BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
This article has 3 parts: 1 - Joe Panos | 2 - Michael Roan | 3 - Yusef Burgess
MADISON, Wis. — Although Yusef Burgess was the leading tackler on a championship defense, he toiled in the shadows of others on both sides of the ball.
Eight UW players were named first-team All-Big Ten in 1993. And he was not one of them, despite 100 tackles, 41 more than his previous three seasons combined.
As almost an afterthought, he was voted on to the second team. Undaunted, unaffected by any personal slight, he just went about his business outside of the spotlight.
It's no different today for Burgess, who has been working behind the scenes on his wife's political campaign in Houston, Texas. Robin Burgess is running for county court judge (Law No. 4) in Brazoria County which encompasses The Woodlands and Sugar Land metro area in the Gulf Coast region.
"I'm excited for her," said Burgess, a risk management consultant for Marsh & McLennan Companies. "I'm active and helping out by going out and talking with people and putting up signs. I'm a political junkie, I guess. They say politics is the real full contact sport, right?"
Robin Burgess, who has been practicing law for 14 years, is an administrative law judge presiding over workers' compensation claims, among other assignments. As a former assistant district attorney, she prosecuted domestic violence cases. Yusef and Robin met in New York City.
"She did very well in law school and was an inspiration in terms of refocusing myself — in seeing her go after her goals and dreams," said the Bronx native who had his own dreams of playing in the NFL. "If you don't reach that goal, it's a little disappointing. I was in that mode coming out of school."
But he found a new direction on Wall Street, where he got his foot in the door of the investment bank and financial securities industry.
About nine years ago, Burgess left Manhattan and relocated to Texas (Robin is from Houston) with Citigroup; he was on the energy desk before making the move to Marsh & McLennan. Addressing the upcoming election and his wife's aspirations, he was in effect talking about his UW football career.
"It's a great opportunity for her to create a little bit of history," he was saying about her campaign, which has been highlighting the words, "Respect, Courage, Compassion." He added, "She knows how to grind and go after the things that she wants."
Burgess could have been speaking about himself with the Badgers. For three years, he waited for an opportunity to show what he could do as a starter. Going into the 1993 season, he was challenged to replace middle linebacker Gary Casper, the second-leading tackler (447) in school history.
"For me personally," Burgess admitted, "there were questions."
But he kept grinding, and he came up with the answers.
"I made sure to have the game plan down," he said, "and I executed on a weekly basis."
He made the same commitment to football as he did to his double major: history and business.
"Academically, it's a challenging school," he said. "The one thing I learned with school is that you get out of it what you put into it. If you're willing to challenge yourself, the upside is full of potential. Athletically, it's very much the same way."
Some of Burgess' inner circle of friends — Jamal Brown, Nikki Kemp and Henry Searcy — are returning for this weekend's reunion. He still has his helmet from that '93 season and other keepsakes in his office, various action photos and pictures. Plus, he has something else hanging on his wall.
"My degree," he said with pride.
Burgess is planning on giving his 15-year-old son, Joseph, the campus tour.
"When we were here, none of this looked like this," he said of the Camp Randall Stadium renovations, including the academic center. "It's great to see what it has become. I don't have any financial equity, but you have the emotional equity, the sweat equity; and you want to see it grow.
"The last time I was here (last spring), I was really in awe with how much growth has occurred in the program in every aspect. Coach (Barry) Alvarez has done a great job in helping guys be the best they can be in all spheres, not just athletically, because at some point the game is going to end."
Reflecting on the special nature and chemistry of the '93 team, Burgess said, "Guys were extremely focused. It was hard to say at the time that you were looking to change history. But in a way, you were. You wanted to be winners, you wanted to be defined as champions.
"Guys were willing to go through the pain to achieve the goal. And I don't mean pain in a negative way. But willing to do the things that were required of you to be successful. Coach Alvarez called it the lunch pail mentality. It's still there today."
Read Part 1 - Joe Panos, Tackle: 'Our legacy is that we started the run and we started it the right way'
Read Part 2 - Michael Roan, Tight End: Like fine wine, UW experience gets better with age
