Lucas: State of Mind
September 10, 2015 | Mike Lucas
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Sept. 10, 2015
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com
MADISON, Wis. -- Truth or Dare? Dare Ogunbowale could not tell a lie. After he moved from cornerback to tailback last season, he still gravitated towards the defense; specifically the linebackers. He liked the "thing that they had" as a position group dubbed the "Chevy Bad Boys" by Marcus Trotter.
"That's our identity," said Trotter, the ringleader, "and it just brings us closer together."
Trotter, who has since headed off to medical school, could be accused of stereotyping in making blanket assumptions with his branding of the linebacking crops. "We have a lot of guys from the country," said the Racine native. "We love Chevys and country music and wear flannel all day long."
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Landisch and Biegel are Wisconsin-bred and proud; Landisch is from Nashotah, Biegel from Wisconsin Rapids. Outside linebacker Joe Schobert, who rounded out the starters, is from Waukesha. With Landisch and Trotter moving on, the Chevy Bad Boys have been reduced in number, not spirit.
Bringing some personal clarity to the big picture was Ogunbowale, a redshirt junior from the big city, Milwaukee, and a product of Marquette High School (same as Trotter). "We definitely took pride in having a whole position crew named for Wisconsin," said Ogunbowale, speaking for other cheeseheads.
Trotter, Landisch, Schobert and Biegel finished two, three, four and six in tackles for UW. "It was exciting to see four Wisconsin guys tearing it up on defense last year," Ogunbowale said. "There's a sense of pride not only in the Chevy Bad Boys, but in all the guys from Wisconsin."
First-year Badgers head coach Paul Chryst can relate to the state pride. He was raised in Madison, attended high school in Platteville and graduated from UW. But he was quick to offer a disclaimer. "Certainly everyone adds value to the program," he stressed, not wanted to exclude out-of-staters.
Graduate assistant coach Antonio Fenelus, an out-of-stater, recently schooled the players on why this school is so unique compared to many others. Fenelus, a former first-team All-Big Ten cornerback for the Badgers, is from Florida where there's an over-abundance of FBS programs.
Without trouble, Fenelus could rattle off the names of Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Central Florida, Florida State, Miami and the University of Florida. By comparison, there's one school competing in football at the D-I level in the state of Wisconsin, and that invokes a state of mind.
"Many of us -- kids that have grown up in Wisconsin -- and many of the kids that I know, dream about being a part of this program and when that dream becomes a reality, you're really proud of it," said Chryst, whose dad coached at Madison Edgewood, UW-Platteville and UW.
"But you also take it seriously. You don't want to let the people you know down. I don't think there's necessarily a pressure. But I think there's a responsibility that a lot of the guys feel."
That's best manifested in the walk-on program, which has been a lifeline for the UW and a pipeline for state athletes. During a team meeting this fall, Chryst awarded scholarships to a couple of redshirt freshmen: linebacker Ryan Connelly from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and defensive end Zander Neuville from Waupaca. He then did likewise for kicker Andrew Endicott, a junior from the Sacramento, California, area.
On the 2015 roster, Connelly, Endicott and Neuville join nine other walk-ons who have been put on tender since arriving at UW: Schobert, Ogunbowale, quarterback Joel Stave, wide receiver Alex Erickson, punter Drew Meyer, long snapper Connor Udelhoven, safety Joe Ferguson, tight end Troy Fumagalli and linebacker Jack Cichy. Nine of the 12 are from the state.
Since Barry Alvarez began reviving a moribund program in 1990, there have been 90 walk-ons who have earned full rides; 16 went on to play in the National Football League, including Jim Leonhard, who will be formally inducted Friday night into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.
Leonhard, who's from Tony (50 miles from Eau Claire), was born to be a Badger long before Trotter gave life to the Chevy Bad Boys. Chryst was in the same boat, or truck, as the case may be. "There's a pride," Chryst said, "in playing for your home state."
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| "When I got the opportunity to walk on," said Ogunbowale, "it was a special feeling to be able to play for a team that I grew up watching and loving. There's just something about having Wisconsin kids playing for Wisconsin." |
Last Saturday night, Dare Ogunbowale saw extended playing time at tailback against Alabama because of a groin injury to starter Corey Clement. Ogunbowale responded in a positive fashion, too, catching six passes, tying for the team lead with wide receiver Alex Erickson.
Ogunbowale was not heavily recruited as a prep senior. Small Division II schools expressed interest.
"When I got the opportunity to walk on," said Ogunbowale, an all-conference defensive back at Milwaukee Marquette, "it was a special feeling to be able to play for a team that I grew up watching and loving. There's just something about having Wisconsin kids playing for Wisconsin."
And there was something about "representing" Milwaukee in football.
"That's the thing, Milwaukee is a big basketball city," said Ogunbowale, twice named his team's defensive player of the year in hoops. "Milwaukee pays more attention to its basketball players. That's why it's exciting for the guys who do play football, and we make sure we keep tabs on each other."
As a youngster, though, he really didn't follow college sports to any great extent. And he was certainly not committed to playing football. "Soccer was actually my favorite sport growing up," he said. "Then I switched to football. Basketball is a big family sport -- just not so much for myself."
Ogunbowale's sister, Arike, is the reigning girls' Player of the Year in Wisconsin and was heavily recruited by every school in the country. She wound up at Notre Dame. Ogunbowale's cousin, Diamond Stone, was the boys' Player of the Year in the state and also a national recruit. He went to Maryland.
Yet another cousin, Ryan Evans, was a 'baller for the Badgers. Recruited out of Phoenix, Arizona, he scored nearly 1,000 points while appearing in 138 games (2009-13). Ogunbowale leaned heavily on Evans. "He showed me around," he said. "And he was happy to have some family on campus."
Family matters. Ogunbowale's dad, Gregory, a soccer buff, was educated in Nigeria before relocating to the U.S. He went to UW-Milwaukee. A high school principal, he's working on his master's at Cardinal Stritch. Ogunbowale's mom, Yolanda, is a DePaul graduate and a grade school teacher.
Ogunbowale's connection to the Badgers was subtle at first. "I had this Badger stocking cap, it had a 'W' on it and it was my winter hat," he said. "I don't know if that was the reason I was a Badgers fan. But I did become a fan of the way they played in basketball and football."
Besides connecting with his cousin, he said, "It was Wisconsin, it was my state school."
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| "A lot of guys say that you just have this feeling; it's just something about this place that you really can't pass up in my opinion." |
Iowa was technically Alec James' state school for a short period. He was born in Cedar Falls. But the family moved to Brookfield when he was 6. His father, Jimmie James, who hailed from Cleveland, Ohio, played defensive end for the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the early 1980s.
"I never really paid attention to college football until I got to middle school," said Alec James. "One of my dad's good friends played baseball here (Wisconsin). So I was introduced at a young age, but not too young, and that's when I learned the Badger way."
James could have gone just about anywhere. ESPN labeled him as the No. 1 recruit in Wisconsin after he recorded 25 TFLs and 12 quarterback sacks during his senior year at Brookfield East High School. His original short list included Michigan State, Clemson and the Badgers.
"After I committed here," he said, "Coach (Bret) Bielema left."
Bielema took the Arkansas job, which provided another option and offer for James. Oregon also got into the recruiting mix for his services and offered James, who took a late recruiting trip to Eugene. But he didn't renege on his commitment to Wisconsin.
"A lot of guys say that you just have this feeling; it's just something about this place that you really can't pass up in my opinion," said James, a 6-3, 264-pound redshirt sophomore. "One thing I suggest to a lot of recruits is that you have to envision going to a school without a sport.
"That's because any day you could get hurt and not be able to play anymore. And this is the one place where I could really see myself going to school without the football aspect if I were to get hurt, so I ended up staying here." Meaning that he stayed at home.
"I think everyone on the team takes pride in playing for Wisconsin," he said. "I know we have guys from everywhere. But once you're in the locker room, and you go through the off-seasons and the seasons together; once you go through fall camp together, you have pride in what you're doing."
But it seems to be magnified for those players who grew up in the state. "It's the heart and the toughness; this program just means something more," James said. "A lot of us grew up Badger fans and wanted to play for the Badgers. We bring that passion and the fire to wear that 'W.'"
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| "It still gives me chills thinking about being able to run out at Camp Randall Stadium with my teammates and my (Badger) brothers that you work with and share that red W with. It's really a treat." |
Maybe nobody has a better understanding of the time-honored rivalry between Minnesota and Wisconsin than outside linebacker Jack Cichy, a redshirt sophomore from Somerset. Cichy has always had the pulse of the Border Battle. "I was born and raised about a mile from the border," he said.
Somerset is only about 25 miles, or a 30-minute drive, from St. Paul, Minnesota. And that's where he went to high school, Hill-Murray. Cichy received some attention from the Gophers. And he didn't discourage their advances just to "experience" the recruiting process and "see what this was all about."
But there was little doubt on where he was going.
"Honestly, my mom (Lisa) went to law school here (Wisconsin)," said Cichy, whose dad, Steve, played football at Notre Dame. "She was a die-hard Badger fan, so in a sense I was brain-washed most of my life to hate the Gophers. I never really thought about going there."
Most on his mother's side of the family went to Wisconsin, he added. So did both of his older sisters, Rochelle and Tessa, a senior on this year's UW women's basketball team. She started 25 games, averaging nearly 10 points and the team's second-most minutes last season.
"It had an influence but I wouldn't say her (Tessa) being at Wisconsin was the reason I came here," said Cichy, the backup to Schobert. "I remember growing up, our family would always trek down to Madison. I have cousins who live in Waunakee and my parents would drive everyone down here."
That boosted his familiarity with the area even though the UW campus may have seemed like it was worlds apart from Somerset, a four-hour drive from Madison. Cichy never flinched at the thought of proving himself as a walk-on, either, not given the success of all those who preceded him on that path.
"As my dad always said, 'It's a great opportunity and a learning experience just like everything else,'" related Cichy, who went on scholarship earlier this year. "So if you take everything in stride and try to learn every day, it will eventually work out. Stay patient and trust what's going on, trust the process."
It just made him more intense about becoming a Badger, something that he shares with the other in-state players. "There's a natural born passion," he said. "It's like we're defending our home in a sense, protecting our home ground, and that means a lot, especially to me."
Wearing that white helmet with the red Motion W brings it all home. "It means the world," he said. "It still gives me chills thinking about being able to run out at Camp Randall Stadium with my teammates and my (Badger) brothers that you work with and share that red W with. It's really a treat."
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| "As a kid, you see your parents doing that and you don't know anything else, so you work hard and essentially overachieve. I think that's what a lot of Wisconsin kids do. They're tough, smart and overachievers by other people's standards." |
Alex Erickson's favorite Wisconsin player was Luke Swan. "I loved watching him, he was a local guy who played in the same conference as I did," said Erickson. "Just seeing the success that he had (at Wisconsin) makes you wonder, 'Maybe I can do that someday.'"
But there was no guarantee that his storyline would turn out the same as Swan's despite their similarity. "It's too hard to tell when you're that young," Erickson rationalized. "But you keep working and it keeps getting closer and one day it could become a reality."
Swan was a game-breaker at Fennimore High School and a possession-type receiver for the Badgers, a three-year letterwinner. As a junior, he was the third-leading receiver (35 catches for 595 yards). As a senior captain, he had 25 catches through six games before an injury cut short his career.
Fennimore is in the SWAL (Southwestern Wisconsin Activities League) along with Darlington, which is where Erickson starred as an option quarterback. Because his dad was such a huge Wisconsin fan, Erickson said, "Badger football and basketball was a big part of my life."
In turn, Swan had paved the wave for a walk-on from the SWAL to make it big, too.
"You don't have the number of players and you don't quite have the exposure of the bigger schools," Erickson said of playing in a smaller league, "but there are still a lot of quality players in those conferences, maybe not as many; still there are guys who if given a chance can prove themselves."
That was the case with Swan and now with Erickson, a former walk-on who was tendered in 2014 and proceeded to lead the Badgers with 55 catches. In the 2015 season opener, he had six receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown. He also had UW's longest run from scrimmage (25 yards) on a jet sweep.
Erickson was drawn to the program because of Swan's success.
"That was a big part of it," he said, "just getting an opportunity to be a part of this tradition, the Wisconsin brand. The walk-on tradition adds to it because you know that you're going to be treated the same (as scholarship players); you're going to get opportunities if you work hard and stick it out."
The success of the Wisconsin feeder system hasn't surprised Erickson.
"You look at the type of people in Wisconsin and they're blue-collar; a lot of farmers, rural area people who work hard for a living; they work 50 to 60 hours a week," he said. "As a kid, you see your parents doing that and you don't know anything else, so you work hard and essentially overachieve.
"I think that's what a lot of Wisconsin kids do. They're tough, smart and overachievers by other people's standards," said Erickson, citing Chryst's background. "Being a Wisconsin guy himself, knowing what he has done and the success that he has had here, we knew that we were in good hands."
Chryst filled out his coaching and weight training staffs with 11 former UW players. "It's cool because they know what it takes to win here," Erickson said. "They've all been successful. They do it the right way; they're tough, dependable, hard-working guys, so you listen and take something from them."
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| "We work hard, we're smart, we're tough, and we don't take anything for granted. All the people in this program know how it was instilled in them and now they're passing it on, which gives it all some validity." |
Bradie Ewing jumped at the chance to work for Chryst and Ross Kolodziej in the weight room. After an injury-riddled NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars, he returned to Madison with the hope of teaching others what he had learned as a former UW walk-on from Richland Center.
"Shoot, a lot of things brought me back -- the love of the program and the love for the game," said Ewing, a rock-steady fullback on back-to-back Rose Bowl teams. "Coach Chryst is an awesome leader and I'm excited to be a part of this and help the kids, having been in their shoes."
The weight room staff also features Kyle Costigan, a starting guard and All-America selection from last season's team; along with holdover Jamil Walker, who's beginning his seventh year as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. Walker lettered as a UW tailback and defensive end.
"Costi (Costigan) is phenomenal, just a warrior imparting his wisdom," Ewing said. "Coach K (Kolodziej, a former defensive tackle for the Badgers) is a great leader and knows what it takes to be successful. Coach Chryst has done a good job of surrounding himself with people that take pride in that.
"It's important to get back to why we had success here. We work hard, we're smart, we're tough, and we don't take anything for granted. All the people in this program know how it was instilled in them and now they're passing it on, which gives it all some validity."
Ewing still has fond recollections of following the Badgers when he was a kid. "I remember watching the (2003) Ohio State game when Lee Evans caught the bomb over Chris Gamble," he said. "I just remember my dad yelling, "Gamble took a gamble and he lost!'"
He also remembered "bow-hunting and listening to Matt Lepay," the radio play-by-play voice of Wisconsin football and basketball. "It's the state of Wisconsin," chirped Ewing, whose older sister, Brittany, is the assistant director of football recruiting and younger sister, Brooklyn, is now a junior at UW. "Everybody loves the Badgers."
That's really cutting to the chase, isn't it? "They bring heart," Ewing said of the in-state players. "They've been around the program and they have that love for it. They've seen guys have success and they feel honored to be part of the tradition and carrying it forward. It's a special thing for a state kid."
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| "We grew up watching the Badgers. We grew up dreaming about playing for them. As cliche as it might sound, our dreams came to reality. It's pretty special, it's something that can't be explained, it's something that just has to be felt." |
Jordan Fredrick is a second-generation Badger; he's a senior wide receiver from Madison Memorial and the son of Craig Fredrick, who played tight end here in the late '70s and early '80s. "My mom (Andree) went to UW-Eau Claire," he said, "but she grew up a Badger fan, too."
Iowa was aggressive in its recruitment of Fredrick. "They recruited me hard," he said. "But in the end, when you were growing up, you were coming to all of the Badger games and you can't really turn your back on that. You want to play it like you're on the fence …"
But …
"In the back of your head, you always wanted to be a Badger," Fredrick said. "I have very supportive parents and I'm sure my dad was hoping in the back of his mind that I would (choose Wisconsin) but being the good father that he is, he told me it was my choice …"
But …
"When your dad is a Badger," he said, his voice trailing off. Was there really any other choice? Jordan Fredrick remembered hearing how Alvarez promised to "build a wall around the state" to dissuade outsiders from recruiting the better Wisconsin players.
"That changed the program," Fredrick said. "It was his (Alvarez's) belief that if you were good enough to be here (Wisconsin) then 'I want you here.' That's a big thing when the coaches and the administration want you, a mutual feeling; that is different than a lot of places in the country."
After all, it's Wisconsin, he said, "And it's the Badgers and the Packers."
And when Alvarez hired Chryst, Fredrick said, "It's the cherry on top."
And when Chryst hired all the former UW players, Fredrick said, "You almost want to call them by their first name because you feel like they're family. That's how it is with Bradie (Ewing). I was a freshman during his senior year, so what do I call him? Do I call him Coach? Or do I call him Bradie?"
He usually splits the difference and "I call him a little bit of both."
Fredrick, like the others, didn't want to give the wrong impression. "Like the in-state guys are acting superior to the out-of-state guys," he said.
That's not it all, he emphasized. So did the others.
"It just means more to us," he said. "We grew up watching the Badgers. We grew up dreaming about playing for them. As cliché as it might sound, our dreams came to reality. It's pretty special, it's something that can't be explained, it's something that just has to be felt."
Heartfelt, in a word.
