Fletcher picks Wisconsin
January 27, 2009 | Football
Leading up to Signing Day on Feb. 4, UWBadgers.com will take a look back at the recruiting and signing of some of the best players in recent Badger football history. Today we look at Jamar Fletcher, who signed with UW in the winter of 1997.
When Wisconsin started recruiting Fletcher he was, according to former UW head coach Barry Alvarez, an option quarterback weighing 'about 150 pounds, maybe less.' Fletcher went to Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis. Wisconsin had some history at that school, recruiting running back Terrell Fletcher (no relation to Jamar) a couple years prior.
'Fletcher was from that pipeline that Coz (former assistant coach Kevin Cosgrove) had at Hazelwood East,' Alvarez said. 'He played on a good team. We were looking at him and Bryan Fletcher, Terrell's brother, who was a tight end. We dragged our feet a little on Bryan, who ended up going to UCLA and we ended up playing against him in the Sun Bowl in 2000.'
Recruiting a 150-pound option quarterback may have been a little risky but Alvarez thought it was worth the gamble.
'Coz was really high on Jamar and we just banked on Coz's knowledge of the kids in that school,' Alvarez said. 'He was a skinny guy, you could see that he was athletic, but you didn't whether he could play for sure. Coz was determined that he was a guy that could come in and make it. We moved him (to defensive back) as a freshman. He was very confident, always very confident in his own ability. '
That confidence was on display as early as Fletcher's first season. After moving to defensive back and redshirting in 1997, Fletcher burst on the scene during the Badgers' Rose Bowl campaign of 1998. That year he led the country in interceptions, returned three picks for touchdowns and earned freshman All-America honors.
Fletcher was also a part of Badger history that season, helping start a tradition that has become universally known. UW squared off against 17th-ranked Purdue and pass-happy quarterback Drew Brees. With the game tied 17-17 late in the third quarter, Fletcher picked off a pass and returned it 52 yards for touchdown. The TD came with 1:10 left in the quarter. The crowd was still hyped up when 'Jump Around' blared over the loud speaker at Camp Randall in between the third and fourth quarters. UW went on to win 31-24 and a new tradition was born.
Fletcher continued making big plays for UW throughout his career, registering seven interceptions in each of his three seasons to set a UW career record with 21 picks. Five of those interceptions were returned for touchdowns. As a junior, Fletcher was selected as the Jim Thorpe Award winner, despite missing three games.
Fletcher entered the NFL draft following that season and was drafted in the first round by the Miami Dolphins. He has played for five teams in his eight-year pro career and has seven career interceptions ( id=FLE643597"> --> complete NFL bio ).
