GREATEST BADGERS OF ALL TIME
Adam Duerson
August 22, 2008
Of all the heroes who took the field for Wisconsin, here's a roster for the ages
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The Alltime Badgers Team
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GRANTED, SI's Alltime Wisconsin Team is largely plucked
from the Barry Alvarez era (1990-2005), but the Badgers have been putting their
stamp on college football dating to the 19th century, especially at the
halfback position. In a perfect world, UW would line up eight backs on offense.
We went with a more traditional formation.
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OFFENSE
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QB
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RON VANDER KELEN
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1962
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Rose Bowl MVP, Heisman finalist in lone season
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RB
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RON DAYNE
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1996-99
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College's top rusher broke 200 yards 14 times
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FB
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ALAN AMECHE*
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1951-54
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Heisman winner led UW to only No. 1 rank, in '52
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WR
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LEE EVANS
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1999-2003
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Most receiving yards in a Big Ten season (1,575)
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WR
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PAT RICHTER*
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1960-62
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UW athletic director who hired Barry Alvarez
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TE
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TRAVIS BECKUM
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2006-08
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Tied UW record for receptions in a season (75)
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T
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AARON GIBSON
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1996-98
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400-pound Outland finalist cleared way for Dayne
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T
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JOE THOMAS
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2003-06
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Outland winner and future No. 3 draft pick
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G
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ARLIE MUCKS SR.
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1914
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Threw the discus at '12 Olympics
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G
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CASEY RABACH
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1997-2000
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Badgers ran for 10,903 yards during his tenure
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C
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BOB (RED) WILSON
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1946-49
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Big Ten MVP in '49; 10 seasons as big league
catcher
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DEFENSE
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DE
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TOM BURKE
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1995-98
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Big Ten-record 22 sacks in '98; four-year pro
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DE
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TAREK SALEH
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1993-96
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UW career sacks and tackles-for-loss leader
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DT
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WENDELL BRYANT
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1998-2001
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Game-sealing sack in '99 Rose Bowl as freshman
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DT
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TIM KRUMRIE
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1979-82
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Player of the week after '81 Michigan upset
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LB
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PETE MONTY
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1993-96
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Alvarez: "The best linebacker I've been
around"
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LB
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HAL FAVERTY
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1945, '48, '50-51
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Team MVP on '51 D that scored 58 points
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LB
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NICK GREISEN
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1998-2001
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Five forced fumbles, 146 tackles as junior
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CB
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JAMAR FLETCHER
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1998-2000
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Thorpe winner in '00; seven INTs in each season
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CB
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TROY VINCENT
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1988-91
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'91 Big Ten co-defensive POY; five-time Pro Bowler
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SS
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DALE HACKBART
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1957-59
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Led '59 Rose Bowl team in rushing and passing
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FS
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JIM LEONHARD
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2001-04
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Tiny 5' 8" walk-on tied Big Ten INT record in '02
(11)
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SPECIAL TEAMS
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K
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PAT O'DEA*
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1896-99
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The Kangaroo had 62-yard FG, 110-yard punt day
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P
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KEVIN STEMKE
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1997-2000
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School-record 44.5 yards per punt in '00
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KR-PR
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NICK DAVIS
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1998-2001
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Two PR scores in '98; another plus KR in '99
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COACH
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BARRY ALVAREZ
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1990-2005
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Bowl mark (8-3) is best for coaches with 11 games
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*Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
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RON VANDER
KELEN
QB
CAREER: 1962
HIGHLIGHTS: Tops in Big Ten passing (1,582 yards) and total offense in his one
year; ninth in Heisman voting
Inexperience did
little to slow this Green Bay native, who was an unenrolled construction worker
in '61. He returned for his senior year having played just 90 seconds of
varsity ball, then threw three TDs in a 37-6 rout of No. 1 Northwestern before
setting a Rose Bowl record with 401 yards in a loss to USC.
WENDELL BRYANT
DT
CAREER: 1998-2001
HIGHLIGHTS: 24 career sacks; All-America ('01)
The two-time Big
Ten defensive lineman of the year's career game came versus Penn State in '01.
He logged five sacks and a fumble recovery, delaying Joe Paterno from tying
Bear Bryant's career wins mark.
NICK GREISEN
LB
CAREER: 1998-2001
HIGHLIGHTS: 145-plus tackles in each of his last two seasons; All-Big Ten ('00,
'01)
Greisen's best
work came during the '01 season, when he had 167 tackles. Typical of this
plucky 'backer was his stand-up performance in a 20-17 win over Ohio State in
Columbus, which included this sack. Late in the game Greisen keyed two stops
that kept the Buckeyes out of easy field goal territory.
AARON GIBSON
T
CAREER: 1996-98
HIGHLIGHTS: All-America ('98)
The Biggest Man on
Campus from Day One, Gibson arrived in Madison a gigantic 6' 7", 435
pounds. But he trimmed that below four bills and got his 40 time down to a
respectable 5.35 seconds, which made him a devastating force when paired with
roly-poly Ron Dayne.
PAT RICHTER
WR
CAREER: 1960-62
HIGHLIGHTS: All-America ('61, '62); Hall of Fame inductee
This native
Madisonian introduced Wisconsin to the rapidly evolving Passing Era: his
nation-high 817 receiving yards in '61 surpassed UW's previous single-season
record by 430 yards.
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