ANDY BAGGOT Insider

BY ANDY BAGGOT

MADISON, Wis. — The first time Jon Dietzen played a game on behalf of the Wisconsin football team it was magical.

It was a drop-dead gorgeous September afternoon at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Dietzen, a redshirt freshman from the tiny Village of Black Creek, Wisconsin, started at left guard for the unranked Badgers when they faced Southeastern Conference power and national blueblood LSU.

That was 2016.

Dietzen attended Seymour High School and grew up 30 minutes from Lambeau, the iconic NFL home of the Green Bay Packers. His parents, Bruce and Karen, come from families who own season tickets. The idea that this setting would be the launch point for one of the most unique college football careers in program history remains a dream moment 40 games later.

"It's still probably my main highlight," Dietzen said. "Being a kid from the Green Bay area, nothing beats playing on Lambeau."

It helps that the Badgers produced a 16-14 victory, a spectacular upset given that they began a season unranked for the first time since 2009 and that LSU was a trendy pick to win the national title.

"That first game was just pure excitement," Karen Dietzen said.

Her son said the novelty of playing in one of the most famous stadiums in the world faded once the game began. But as soon as it was over, oh, boy.

"Once I saw guys doing Lambeau Leaps and stuff after the game, it was, 'Oh, yeah. I'm playing football at Lambeau right now," Jon said.

Dietzen spent a second or two thinking about how cool it would be to join his leaping teammates, but the reality of his 6-foot-6, 333-pound frame intervened.

"I was like, 'I don't know if I'm going to make it and it would be embarrassing to not make it,'" he said with a laugh.

Thus began a six-year journey for Dietzen that is about to end ... again.

It includes one sabbatical, two degrees and three curtain calls. It includes multiple surgeries. It includes being part of the most acclaimed offensive line in Wisconsin history. It includes a comeback that defied a pandemic.

When the Badgers host Minnesota in the Big Ten Conference season finale Saturday at 3 p.m. at Camp Randall Stadium, it will be more than a swan song for Dietzen, more than a chance to swing Paul Bunyan's Axe one more time. It will be something he cherishes most of all given his star-crossed, oft-times painful career.

An opportunity.

"It's kind of a lot to process," Dietzen said of his time at UW. "I would still say I definitely don't regret anything. It was a different year, but that doesn't mean that I didn't get to play football and go out and enjoy myself and take another swing at this. Regardless, I think I still enjoyed it and had a lot of fun."

The highlight of Dietzen's career? Easy.

"The camaraderie," he said. "Every football player will tell you that it's something you can never replicate."

The first time Dietzen stepped into the national spotlight it was surreal.

Sports Illustrated magazine put him on the cover of its regional college football preview along with fellow offensive linemen Tyler Biadasz, Beau Benzschawel, Michael Deiter and David Edwards.

The five pals are arranged in huddle fashion with Dietzen — his red hair much shorter than his current wild mane and a focused look on his face — wedged between Edwards and Deiter. The photo was taken following a lunchtime visit to a local burger joint.

That was 2018.

"Kind of weird," Bruce Dietzen said of seeing his son on such a big publicity stage, one typically reserved for the ultra-famous.

The Dietzens don't have a subscription to SI. They had to go out and buy some copies.

"It took us a few stores before we found one," Karen said.

SI is known for its attention-getting covers, which are keepsakes for many sports fans.

"As it was happening, I didn't really think about how unique of an experience that it was," Jon said. "But then after I saw everything come out, it was an incredibly unique experience that I feel really fortunate to be a part of."

The magazine cover is a testament to friendship and the offensive line tradition at Wisconsin. Biadasz, Benzschawel, Deiter and Edwards were first-team All-Big Ten and first-team All-America picks. They currently work in the NFL with Dallas, Houston, Miami and the Los Angeles Rams, respectively.

Together that unit cleared real estate for four current NFL backs: Corey Clement, Dare Ogunbowale, Alec Ingold and Jonathan Taylor. Clement was a 1,000-yard tailback as a senior in 2016. Taylor had two 2,000-yard campaigns and was a two-time Doak Walker Award winner as the best college running back in the nation in 2018 and '19.

"Good people, funny guys, guys who like to have fun," Bruce said of that offensive line. "They talk pretty much daily."

Dietzen hasn't received the individual acclaim of his friends and former UW teammates on the offensive line. Hip and ankle injuries, which caused him to miss at least one game in 2016, '17 and '18, likely had something to do with that.

"They are what held him back," Karen said. "That led to him stepping away to take care of himself and get himself completely healed up. Which proved to be the right thing to do.

"As a parent you want your kids to be happy. You want your kids to be doing what they want. But you also want them feeling good. It was tough watching him go through what he had to do to get back to it."

Dietzen stepped away from football for the 2019 season, focusing on his work toward a degree in Life Science Communications. That mission accomplished, he's pursing another degree, in history, as he looks to give the NFL a shot.

What did Dietzen learn from dealing with his pain?

"I've learned to listen to my body more, kind of understanding that sometimes just because you can go out there and get something done doesn't mean that you're going to be giving the team the best chance," he said.

When it came time for Dietzen to decide if he was going to return to the Badgers this season, his parents were thoughtful and patient.

"You can't turn the clock backwards, so you might as well do it now," Bruce told his son.

"I wouldn't say we nudged him, but we supported him," Karen said. "We said, 'Hey, if this is something you think you can do and you're feeling like you're back to where you should be, go for it.'"

The first time Dietzen played his final game at Camp Randall it was excruciating.

The Badgers had won 14 consecutive meetings with Minnesota going back to 2004, but a 37-15 loss ruined the goodbye buzz for the likes of Deiter and Edwards.

Twenty-six months later, Dietzen would like to get that rectified. The Big Ten re-arranged the schedule with a nod toward maintaining the most-played rivalry in Football Bowl Subdivision history (130 games). Since his last appearances at Camp Randall this season was a loss to Indiana, he'd like to get that taste out of his mouth as well.

"Kind of fitting that I had my last game a couple years ago and now I've got my last game here again," he said.

For the Indiana game, parents of seniors who were able to take part were allowed to utilize the suites at otherwise-empty Camp Randall where gestures of gratitude and celebration were on display. There were photo displays and a hand-written note from Coach Paul Chryst.

"They really put in an effort to try and make it special for us given the situation," Karen said of the COVID limitations.

"It was fantastic," Bruce said.

There was also a note from their son, thanking them for the opportunity "again."

The Dietzens have no regrets at all.

"It's a unique situation, but you see a smile on his face every day, you know he did the right thing," Karen said.

Jon wrestled with the coronavirus earlier this year. His symptoms weren't overpowering, but they were enough to make him appreciate the challenge.

Twenty years from now, what will Dietzen tell his family and friends about 2020?

"It's hard to put into words," he said. "This year will always stick out more in my mind compared to the others I've played."

But Dietzen is happy with his decision to come back and will cherish its memories.

"Just having the opportunity is enough for me," he said.