BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Making his first career start was understandably exciting.
It would be for anyone.
But, in retrospect, making it on Halloween night at Camp Randall Stadium against unbeaten Nebraska made it even more memorable.
"All I remember," David Edwards said, "was being super nervous."
On Oct. 29, 2016, the Badgers lined up with Ryan Ramczyk at left tackle, Jon Dietzen at left guard, Michael Deiter at center, Beau Benzschawel at right guard and Edwards at right tackle.
Before the game, Edwards, then a redshirt freshman, got some advice from his older teammates, who encouraged him to not make it bigger than it was because "You've done this a million times."
Even though he really hadn't done it that many times — Edwards was a high school quarterback and recruited as a tight end — the message was clear: don't overthink the moment.
Still, given the Freak Fest environment (6 p.m. kickoff), the opponent (the No. 7-ranked Cornhuskers were 7-0) and the result (a 23-17 overtime win), it was something you don't forget.
Two years later, Edwards remembered how the vets had made him feel, so he passed along the same advice to Cole Van Lanen, who made his first career start Saturday against New Mexico.
"You've proven that you can play at a high level," Edwards told Van Lanen, a redshirt sophomore from Green Bay. "Just go out and cut it loose."
And that's what the 6-foot-5, 311-pound Van Lanen tried to do at left tackle, where he got the start over Dietzen, whose reps and playing time have been closely monitored after offseason hip surgery.
"I found out a few days ago that I would be playing the whole game and I was prepared for it," Van Lanen said. "There's going to be ups and downs in every game. But I felt good the entire time.
"Overall, I thought I got better from last week and I'm just going to keep doing that. It was an awesome opportunity and I had a lot of fun."
Knowing that Dietzen was available only in an emergency, Van Lanen didn't have to look over his shoulder and wonder when he was coming out.
"So, it was all on me," he said, embracing the challenge.
And the outcome.
The Badgers controlled the line of scrimmage in rushing for 417 yards, the most since 2014 when Melvin Gordon broke the NCAA single-game mark with 408 and the team had 581 against Nebraska.
Sophomore tailback Jonathan Taylor had 33 carries for a career-high 253 yards.
"For us to do our job," Van Lanen said, "and to watch the play develop and see what he (Taylor) does is an awesome feeling — just seeing him 20 yards downfield doing his thing."
A year ago, Deiter moved from guard to left tackle replacing Ramczyk, an All-American and first-round draft choice of the New Orleans Saints. Deiter has since been an invaluable asset to Van Lanen.
"He has played all the way up and down the line," said Van Lanen, pointing to Deiter's versatility and wealth of knowledge. "He's an awesome mentor, player and friend. I'm glad he's next to me."
He's also glad to be in a "timeshare" with Dietzen, who has 21 career starts.
"Jon is really a good player — physically and mentally," Van Lanen said. "He's a great mentor, too. By him and I pushing each other every day that just betters both of us as football players."
Van Lanen arrived here as an extremely highly-touted offensive lineman, a four-star prospect and the only prep player in Wisconsin to be invited to the 2016 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
"I had the mentality that I knew coming in that redshirting was going to happen (as a freshman)," he said. "Redshirting is a good thing and you have to take advantage of that year.
"After that, you have to find your role. I found my role last year (in the two deep) and now I'm in a better role this year and I just have to keep pushing. Always the goal is to get better."
Van Lanen and fullback Alec Ingold were teammates at Bay Port High School and they both celebrated Saturday in the end zone after Ingold's fourth quarter touchdown run.
"I blocked for him two years in high school," said Van Lanen, who had promised his former prep quarterback, "I was going to hold him in the air (after scoring) and we did that today."
With increased exposure, Van Lanen is now holding himself up to a higher standard.
"It started with playing with confidence," he said. "Once I found that confidence, then it's just playing football and playing at the level that I know that I can play."
WHAT'S ON TAP SATURDAY: BYU, 2:30 p.m.
After a shocking 28-23 win in the opener at heavily-favored Arizona, the Cougars fell short in their home opener last Saturday night, losing to California, 21-18, in Provo, Utah.
One week after rushing for 98 yards and three touchdowns, tailback Squally Canada was kept out of the end zone and held to 49 yards on 16 carries.
Quarterback Tanner Mangum completed 22 of 41 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. But he was also picked off twice and sacked twice, spoiling his birthday. He's 25.
The average age of the BYU roster is 21.5. The Cougars have 25 married players.
"I know for a fact that they're going to have some really big guys up front," said Edwards, sharing his own personal scouting report. "I know their defensive end who played hoops is back."
That would be 6-9, 275-pound Corbin Kaufuis, whose older brother, Bronson, plays for the Baltimore Ravens. His dad is a former BYU coach. His mom is the current mayor of Provo.
In the opener, Kaufusi had seven tackles, including two for losses and one sack.
"He's a good player," Edwards said, "and they have a lot of guys who rotate inside."
Last season, the Badgers shredded the BYU defense in a 40-6 win at Provo.
Quarterback Alex Hornibrook completed 18 of 19 passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns, while Taylor ran for 128 yards on 18 carries. Mangum was injured and didn't play against the Badgers.
"I know, for sure, it's going to be a challenge," Edwards said, "and we'll be up for it."
BYU will be Wisconsin's last test before opening the Big Ten season at Iowa.
"Each week, we're trying to grow and improve," Edwards said after Saturday's win against New Mexico. "One of the things that we talk about in the O-line room is having just one agenda.
"We'll take what we did today and build off it and try to be better next Saturday."
