In Hot Pursuit
October 26, 2001 | Football
Ben Herbert looks intense. Standing 6-4, weighing 245 pounds with nary an ounce of fat on him, the Badgers' starting nose guard has the body to mix it up in the middle of the gridiron. Add a cleanly shaven skull, and Herbert is downright intimidating.
'I don't know how intimidating it is,' the senior said. 'Off the field, I'm a pretty nice guy and on the field I have my helmet on. It's just a look I like right now.'
Herbert and classmate Nick Greisen debuted the shaved head look during spring practice of their sophomore years. While Herbert has kept his chrome dome, Greisen was pretty quick to let his hair grow back.
'Nick took some heat for having kind of a cone-shaped head, ' Herbert said. 'At least I have a nice shaped head. My mom used to own her own hair salon so she was a little shocked when she first saw it. But she's used to it now.'
While Herbert's hairstyle may not help him combat offensive linemen, his attitude on the field certainly does. Known for his aggressiveness and hard work, the McDonald, Pa., native is one of the most intense players on the Badgers' roster.
'Ben practices hard and he's got great toughness, ' defensive line coach John Palermo said. 'It's good for the younger guys see how hard he practices and how much he just loves to play the game and hit people.'
That love of the game began early for Herbert. Like many kids in western Pennsylvania, he played pee wee football. He played running back as a youth and one game was called on to run a sweep. With just one defensive player to beat, young Ben had a decision to make, either run around him ... or through him.
'I just ran him over,' Herbert said. 'When my coach asked why I didn't just run around him, I told him I just wanted to hit someone.'
When Herbert got his chance in high school, he hit lots of people. A USA Today honorable mention all-American, he made 331 career tackles, including 135 as a senior. He also recovered six fumbles and added five interceptions as a senior at West Allegheny, earning recognition as one of the top 25 linebackers in the country by ESPN.
Those kinds of numbers had schools flocking to get Herbert on their campus. Growing up just 20 miles outside of Pittsburgh, Herbert was very familiar with schools like Pitt, Penn State and Ohio State. One school he knew very little about was Wisconsin.
'They came in fairly late, during the tail end of my junior year,' Herbert said. 'My parents and I decided to take an unofficial visit during the summer and I was shocked by what I was missing out on.'
Once he got to Madison, Herbert was overwhelmed by the the city, the beauty of the campus and the first-class athletic facilities at the UW. He was also impressed by head coach Barry Alvarez and his staff.
'I took my official visit with Brooks (Bollinger) and (Nick) Greisen,' Herbert said. 'When we came in, it just felt like a tighter group of guys than at the other schools. Both the guys who were already here and with Brooks and Nick.'
Once he made his decision official in the second week of January, Herbert set his sights on contributing as a true freshman. The 230-pound linebacker made his mark on special teams, recording five tackles, while also working his way into the two-deep by the end of the season.
Heading into his sophomore campaign, Herbert switched from linebacker to rush end. While his impact was not an immediate one, he gave Badger fans a taste of his ability during Wisconsin's Rose Bowl win over Stanford.
Herbert sacked Cardinal quarterback Todd Husak twice in the game, including one in the fourth quarter with the Badgers clinging to a 10-9 lead. That sack forced Stanford to punt from its own 9-yard line. Wisconsin scored on its ensuing drive.
'That game will always bring fond memories for me,' Herbert said. 'It was great to be able to make plays at the of that game. That was as big a play as I've made here.'
Last year Herbert appeared in all 12 contests, starting three games. Against Minnesota, starting in place of injured John Favret, Herbert was a force, recording a career-high 11 tackles, including two tackles for loss, and forcing a fumble. He also forced a fumble vs. Michigan State and recovered fumbles against Western Michigan and Indiana.
With the departure of three starting defensive linemen (Favret, Ross Kolodziej and Eric Mahlik) coming into this season, Herbert underwent another transition. This one from rush end to nose guard.
'It was simply a way to get our four best players on the field at one time,' Palermo said. 'He has some limitations, but inside, because of his quickness, he's able to hide those.'
On a defensive line decimated by injuries, Herbert has been one of the constants this year. Starting all eight games thus far (Wendell Bryant is the only other DL to do that), Herbert has made 32 tackles, including two for loss. In the season opener vs. Virginia, he made six tackles, one for loss, and collected his first career interception. So much for tough adjustments.
'I had a few questions, but once I got a chance to play I settled down,' Herbert said. 'The biggest change was that I was used to playing in open space, both as a linebacker and rush end. Nose guard is like playing in a phone booth.'
Another question people had about Herbert's switch was his ability to hold up physically. Even at 245 pounds, Herbert is considered somewhat small compared to other interior lineman. Consider that Bryant, Herbert's partner in the middle, tips the scale at 302 pounds.
'The biggest thing is to use good technique to fight off double teams,' the senior history major said. 'If you keep your pads low and keep driving your legs, you'll have success. I've been pleasantly surprised by my ability to hold up.'
Merely holding up isn't what Herbert or the coaches are hoping for. His job is to disturb an offense's rhythm.
'My main focus is to get penetration and cause a little havoc in the backfield,' Herbert said. 'The coaches just want me to turn it loose.'
That shouldn't be a problem for Herbert. He's been doing that since grade school.
