Long on Leadership: Musso's actions, words carry weight for Wisconsin
October 27, 2016 | Football, Mike Lucas
Wisconsin safety continues to prove that opponents who overlook him do so at their own risk
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Seated in the front row of the south end zone, Wisconsin's 23-year-old senior safety Leo Musso motioned to the empty west stands under the upper deck at Camp Randall Stadium.
"I used to be a vendor here and sell Cokes and Diet Cokes," he said, eyeing sections A, B and C. "Two or three years over here and then I switched to this side."
He pointed to the east stands.
Musso recalled carrying his soft drink tray up and down the stadium steps during his middle school years. (The same steps that he would later run during off-season conditioning.)
"That was my first true experience of a Badger game other than watching one on TV," said Musso, who was born in Rockford, Illinois, and moved to Waunakee when he was 10.
"You had to get there early to get into the game," he remembered of his duties. "You truly got to see the entire environment of what Camp Randall and a game day was all about.
"You'd walk through the tailgates and see people setting up. With the event services and concessions, you'd get to see behind the scenes a little bit."
Musso estimated that he made somewhere between $100 and $150 hawking soda.
Don't quote him on that.
"I can't remember honestly," he conceded.
The money was nice, whatever the sum, but it wasn't the incentive.
"I think the most challenging part about it," he said, "was that I wanted to watch the game more than I wanted to sell Coke. There were a lot of other kids who made more money than I did."
Musso had more interest in the players on the field than the consumers in the stands.
"At that point, it was surreal just seeing some of the greats play — guys I looked up to — like J.J. Watt and Tyler Donovan," he said. "It's pretty crazy looking back on that."
As far as visualizing playing on that field for the Badgers, he admitted, "Maybe at the time, I didn't think so. But as I got older, and started to develop more as a football player, I definitely saw that."
• • • •
Musso accelerated his development at Waunakee High School. Everyone saw that. Few have had more accomplished prep careers than Musso, who rushed for 5,535 yards and 87 touchdowns.
As a key component of three straight Division 2 state championship teams that won 41 of 42 games, Musso became a household name — in all 4,000-plus households — in the village of more than 12,000 residents.
"He's got the heart of a champion," Waunakee coach Pat Rice once said of Musso.
Many college recruiters put the 5-foot-10 Musso on their short list. Too short to play. Rice challenged the skeptics to look past his height, especially since his other measurables were so good.
Northern Illinois offered. Ditto for the University of Pittsburgh, whose first-year head coach, Paul Chryst, knew all about Musso's running exploits at Waunakee.
The Badgers finally moved on Musso late in the process. Initially, they discussed him joining the football program in January, but there was a change of plans and Musso was invited to the preseason training camp in 2012. Expectations were modest, if not non-existent, since he was projected as a defensive back.
So was a walk-on from Milwaukee Marquette.
Dare Ogunbowale was a late arrival at camp.
"I remember me and him sitting in the back of the meeting room, just trying to figure out what the heck we were doing," said Musso, who redshirted with Ogunbowale as freshmen.
"Obviously, when I first came here I didn't know anything about defense. I didn't know the difference between Cover 1 and Cover 2. Or how to play defensive back techniques. Or what to look for. The list goes on and on.
"It's kind of crazy to look back on it now. I'm sure a lot of guys who first saw me when I came in thought, 'What the heck is this kid doing here?'
"There were other opportunities. I could have gone to Pitt with Coach Chryst or to Northern Illinois and played running back. But Wisconsin is home to me. Obviously, I'm 15 minutes away (in Waunakee). Everybody asks during the break, 'Are you going home?'
"No, I am home. Wisconsin has always been home to me and I take a lot of pride in playing for this school and playing for my home state."
Musso always believed he was good enough; long before his scoop-and-score at Michigan State.
"I kind of always knew in the back of my head that somehow it would all work out in the end," he said. "Control what you can control. Work hard. Persevere. And everything will take care of itself."
Before becoming a fixture in the secondary as a fifth-year senior, Musso started only three of 38 games during his first three seasons. Reflecting on his career arc, he didn't see a turning point.
"It's hard to pinpoint just because I feel the mistakes or failures along the way defined my career more than anything, for me, maybe not for the outside world," he said.
"That's just because, for me, I used them to kind of propel myself, not wanting to feel those feelings again. They were definitely feelings that I used, I guess, to get to where I am today."
Ogunbowale can relate to what Musso was saying about hard knocks and hardships.
"Leo has gone through a lot of stuff, just like me, and I'm really happy for him having the success that he has been having," said Ogunbowale, who eventually moved from DB to tailback. "I still remember his leadership even as a young guy when we were on the scout team. It was just the way he commanded respect and got it from everyone that he was around.
"Now, him being a senior, and making plays, I know in talking with DT (Derrick Tindal) and Sojourn (Shelton) that he's always going to be back there for them if they get beat or something.
"That's just because he's always in the right spot and he always knows what to expect from the offense that he's playing against.
"His preparation, I feel, is unparalleled with anyone else on the team. He just takes so much pride in being prepared and knowing what to expect.
"We joke every time we see him. He has his iPad out because he was just watching film. That's Leo. I love having him on the team. And I love having him be one of the leaders of the team."
Ogunbowale meant every word.
"I call him 'Cap' (short for captain) every time I see him," said Ogunbowale, who was voted as one of the captains along with outside linebacker Vince Biegel. "Leo is a true leader on this team."
Is that true, Musso was asked, Ogunbowale addresses him as "Cap?"
"He does," he said shyly. "I definitely appreciate it. I guess it's out of respect that he does it. I do feel like I have to be a leader. I'm not a dude that is vocal, crazy, yelling all the time.
"I'm more lead by example, more soft-spoken, more trying to give guys advice maybe one-on-one opposed to maybe getting up in front of the team and speaking a bunch of words.
"That's kind of the leadership role that I take on."
• • • •
During Wisconsin's bye week, Musso took D'Cota Dixon to Waunakee's Homecoming game. Dixon is not only his partner in the secondary, the other starting safety, but he's a close friend.
"He's like my brother," Musso said. "He means the world to me. He's truly someone who has my back through anything. And I have his back through anything.
"That more than anything helped develop our friendship."
Dixon, a junior from Oak Hill, Florida, was delighted to get the Waunakee tour.
"It was definitely fun seeing the impact and the influence his name still has around there," Dixon said. "A lot of young athletes still live through Leo and the legacy that he left behind."
Musso has stashed his three state championship rings in his bedroom at home. He also has the newspaper articles that were written about those powerful Waunakee teams.
"When I get together with some of my friends from back home," he said, "we'll pop in the highlight tape every now and then. There's definitely a lot of memories I feel I could relive."
Musso introduced Dixon to Rice, a Hall of Fame coach.
"I saw him (Rice) on the way in and gave him a hug," Musso said. "And we went into the locker room after everyone else filtered out. It was just me and D'Cota and Pat."
Musso has always had a soft spot in his heart for Rice.
"He's definitely like a father figure to me," he said. "Before I got into high school, they won a lot of state championships and were a great football team. He was someone when he came into the room, you listened up and watched his every move."
So, what did Musso, Dixon and Rice talk about for nearly 30 minutes?
"We were just talking about life in general and about the season," Dixon said. "And he (Rice) mentioned how Leo put a lot into that (Waunakee) program and contributed to what it is now.
"It was really cool to hear. Leo was very humble about it. As always."
Theirs is a special kinship.
"Leo is like my brother," Dixon said. "Me and Leo have become best friends. We do just about everything together now.
"My girlfriend is coming into town and I think we're even going to go on a double-date — go to a movie — just to hang out."
There are a lot of things they do together just 'cause, Dixon is fond of saying.
"Leo is the type of guy who makes you better," he continued. "Being around him makes you want to be a better person both on and off the field.
"He's a guy of faith as well. It's very interesting to have conversations with him and hear his perspective and his view on life. It's very healthy for me to be around a person like that."
It's a bond that is likely to endure.
"We're best friends for life," Dixon said. "If I stay in Wisconsin, our houses are going to be a minimum down the street apart. We've even talked about owning a ranch together in Middleton."
A ranch? With horses?
"A bunch of horses," Dixon claimed.
Dixon has met most of Musso's family, including his mom, Teresa. After the Iowa game, he met his dad and uncle. He has yet to meet his little sister, a first grader. Or his little brother.
Sam Musso is a 5-foot-8, 175-pound freshman running back at St. Cloud State.
At some point, Dixon figures, he will get to know everyone, just 'cause of Leo.
"We're brothers," Dixon reiterated. "Brothers to the end."
That translates on the field.
"We definitely have chemistry," Dixon said. "We don't have to talk. We can look at each other."
Without saying a word, they can communicate with their eye contact.
Wisconsin's first-year secondary coach, Jim Leonhard, has taken notice.
"They're obviously very close — you know that they're on the same page," Leonhard said. "It's awesome to see their communication, on and off the field.
"They enjoy being around each other. As safeties, when you have that bond, it's so much easier to communicate. You can't force it on somebody. It's got to come naturally.
"It's cool to see; they're like brothers and they take care of each other. On the field. Off the field. Spiritually. It's a really cool connection that they have."
Leonhard connected the dots between what Musso achieved at Waunakee and what he's doing now for the Badgers by pointing out, "He knows how to win. He knows what it took to be successful."
The first time that Leonhard watched tape of Musso, he saw his athleticism.
"He doesn't get enough credit for the athleticism that he has," said Leonhard, a former All-America safety for the Badgers and a 10-year veteran of the National Football League.
"He's not small, he's just short. He's very quick twitch. He can stick his foot in the ground and change directions. Those were the first things that I saw in him.
"Once you start going live (in practice), tackling and doing all that, he's very consistent. You can tell he has been around the program. He knows the defense and techniques that he needs to win."
To be coached by Leonhard is a dream come true for Musso.
"He was my idol," Musso said. "Obviously, us being Wisconsin guys and of smaller stature, playing the same position, he's definitely someone I've always looked up to.
"Anytime they'd write an article about him, I'd be reading it. It's pretty surreal having my idol coaching me for my final year. It's very, very special."
How does that sit with Leonhard, who turned 34 on Thursday?
"It's cool, it's very humbling," he said. "Earning respect means a lot when you have guys who watched you play and knew the type of player you were.
"They see you, they know what you look like," said the 5-foot-8 Leonhard. "And they know you probably had to find another way, other than just beating somebody physically.
"That helps as well, because guys start asking those questions. How did you do it? How did you handle bigger guys? How did you handle faster guys? You have to figure that out in order to be successful."
Musso hasn't figured out everything. Like what he's going to do with his undergraduate degree in community non-profit leadership. He also has a certificate in entrepreneurship.
While completing his master's in educational leadership and policy analysis, he will consider all future options. He's uncertain where it will lead beyond saying, "I really know I like to help people."
The Badgers have passed the halfway point of their season. They are guaranteed five more games, starting with Saturday night's matchup with Nebraska. They could play as many as seven more.
Will this be Musso's last hurrah as a football player? Will this be his final season?
"I'm treating it like it is," he said. "But I'm not looking into the future too much. I'm mainly focused on this year. I want to give my all for my teammates, my home state and this football team."
Moments earlier, Musso had talked about the loss of Wisconsin's leading tackler, linebacker Jack Cichy, who will be sidelined the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.
"You know how much time he puts in and how much he truly cares about this team," said Musso, who's invested in the same things. "It's tough from that aspect."
The defense has already shown its resiliency and must again, Musso suggested.
"We really have a bunch of guys who embody what Wisconsin is all about," he said. "I think more than anything, we're a group of guys who have fun playing with one another."
But do the Badgers do it with less talent than others?
"What is talent? That is kind of subjective to everybody," Musso said. "If you were to look back on our recruiting ratings or whatever, maybe you'd say we weren't as talented as some groups.
"But we're not really focused on that. We're a team that is built on a bunch of zero stars, two stars and three-star dudes. That toughness — kind of carrying that chip on your shoulder — is what we're built on."
Leonhard would like the way the "Cap" answered that question.
