Lucas: Deiter’s Big Ten All-Decade nod came as a surprise
July 17, 2020 | Football, Mike Lucas
Lauded for his versatility, Deiter represented UW’s 12 first-team All-America O-linemen from the decade
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — The unexpected recognition was enough to jolt the chip off the shoulder of any unsuspecting player. Michael Deiter was no exception. But after landing on the Big Ten's All-Decade team, Deiter's game can no longer be viewed as understated, even as his approach continues to be.
Collecting more votes than any other offensive guard — including Indiana's Dan Feeney and Ohio State's Wyatt Davis, who tied for first-team honors — was a resounding endorsement and humbling outcome for Deiter, who arrived at Wisconsin as an unsung three-star prospect out of Curtice, Ohio.
"I was super caught off-guard — I would have never expected it," admitted the 23-year-old Deiter. "I was just thinking of all the guys who could have gotten on this team but didn't. It's crazy the names that are on the team."
Names like J.J. Watt, Jonathan Taylor and Chris Borland. Those were the other former UW players on the first team as selected for Big Ten Network by a panel of observers/experts. Melvin Gordon, Gabe Carimi, Kevin Zeitler and T.J. Watt were the Badgers on the second team.
And then there were names like Peter Konz, John Moffitt, Kyle Costigan, Travis Frederick, Rob Havenstein, Ryan Ramczyk, Beau Benzschawel, David Edwards and Tyler Biadasz. Those were the other ex-UW offensive linemen who played between 2010 and 2019 and were NOT recognized by BTN.
All were first-team All-Americans.
"I never would have thought of me being on it (the All-Decade team) with all the guys who have played here and in the Big Ten the last 10 years," reiterated Deiter, a third-round draft pick and 15-game starter for the Miami Dolphins last season. "But it's definitely something I'm proud of."
Deiter shouldn't shortchange himself. Along with being a 2018 first-team All-American, he was named the Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year in the Big Ten; only the fourth guard to win the award since its inception in 1984 and the first since Iowa's Eric Steinbach won in 2002.
"Ability-wise, I wasn't more talented than the next guy," Deiter conceded. "But I was able to play different positions and I did everything I could to make sure I didn't miss any snaps or games. That was always the most important thing to me. I wanted to be out there helping my team."
True to that commitment, Deiter was a two-time captain and started a school-record 54 of 54 games (Linebacker T.J. Edwards has the second most starts with 52). Among Big Ten players all-time, only Ohio State lineman Billy Price (55) has made more starts. Durability shared top billing with versatility. Deiter started 24 games at left guard, 16 at center and 14 at left tackle.
After redshirting as a true freshman in 2014, he had seven starts at guard and six at center. BTN analyst Matt Millen believes the ability to play multiple positions, especially in one season, suggested two things about Deiter — he was athletic enough and smart enough to get the job done at any spot.
"The biggest thing is smarts, it's definitely number one to me," said Deiter, agreeing with Millen, the former Penn State All-American (1978). "It's the ability to understand your technique and your opponent's technique. It's knowing how you can beat them and how they're trying to beat you.
"And then it's the toughness — the ability to go in and work every day to make sure you're getting better. With enough smarts, with enough toughness, you can be a good O-lineman anywhere in the country. In our room (at Wisconsin), it was just something that was expected.
"You didn't have to teach that. We had guys who showed up and already had that in them."
Playing with a chip on your shoulder — a UW staple — was something that Deiter endorsed.
"Especially at that position, the O-line," he said. "Anyone who has played football has played with a chip on his shoulder. Or you're probably not going to play good. It's just a sport where if you don't have an edge and certain demeanor about you then you're not going to have success."
The Badgers' offensive line culture has been well-documented. NFL.com this month posted a "Pipelines to the Pros" series in which it rated eight different position groups over the last two decades based on a formula that considered the number of draft choices and their impactful play early-on.
Wisconsin's O-line was No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.
Rounding out the top 10 were Alabama, Florida, USC, Miami and Iowa.
It has become almost cliché to talk about the UW in this "Offensive Line U" context.
"I guess you can call it cliché, but things that are cliché are usually true," Deiter said. "It's true that's something we do well and we take a lot of pride in being the group that is always steady and a force up front. The first day on campus, you know that this is the group that has to be good."
Deiter credited the mentoring that he received from the aforementioned Costigan, a tougher-than-nails grinder as a player and later as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. He also singled out the personal schooling of offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph, who specifically tutored the O-line.
"Obviously, Joe Rudolph was huge, he's just such a good coach," Deiter said. "It's his effort and the way he attacks every day. And it's the details. He tells you what you need to get better at that day and he's going to hold you to that standard. If you do something, he wants it every single time."
Head coach Paul Chryst has a hand in this process, Deiter added.
"He has a huge impact just because he has seen so much football and has been around the game a long time and understands the importance of the offensive line," he said. "He knows how we should look. He knows when it's good and he knows when it's bad.
"And he's good at explaining the game in a way that makes sense to you. He explains how you can get better as an individual and how that will make us better as a team. He knows his stuff. And he's just a fun guy to rally around."
Much of Deiter's offseason has been spent traveling between Ohio and his place in Davie, Florida, which is about 25 miles north of Miami and the location of the Dolphins training facility. Currently that area of the state has been deemed as one of the epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic.
"You're not allowed to do anything and you're kind of scared to do anything anyway, so there has been a whole lot of sitting around and working out pretty much," said Deiter, who has used the time to get more fit and stronger after struggling with his consistency as an NFL rookie.
"My season could have been better. But there's room to grow.
"I want to play better and with more confidence and with more of an edge."
After starting the first 12 games, he was benched before regaining his spot the final weeks of the season. In typical Deiter fashion, his first reaction to the demotion was to think, "What do I have to do to get back in there? And what can I do to help him (his replacement) play well, too?'"
That type of selfless attitude impressed Dolphins coach Brian Flores.
"Deiter is a team guy," Flores told the Miami Herald. "Whatever we feel is best for the team, he will jump in and do. I know he was disappointed (by the benching), but at the same time he wanted to see us do well and he was ready to go."
Going into the 2020 season, the Dolphins have retooled their offensive line with the free agent signing of guard Ereck Flowers and the drafting of tackle Austin Jackson in the first round, guard Robert Hunt in the second round and guard Solomon Kindley in the fourth round.
This is where Deiter's versatility will likely pay off in that he could move to center — and compete with another free agent, Ted Karras — or switch to right guard, also a personnel question mark. If the Dolphins are looking for positional flexibility, Deiter can certainly offer that.
"If anything, my first season (with Miami) was kind like my freshman season at Wisconsin," he said. "There were times where I was thinking, 'I can't get beat' instead of thinking how to beat people. As the season went on, it got better; realizing it's football, it's the game you've played your whole life."
Throughout the year, he fell back on his Badger training, "All the things you learned at Wisconsin as far as how to practice, how to play, how to be a good teammate. Playing in a pro-style offense definitely helped, too. A lot of the schemes were the same with a little different verbiage."
In addition, Deiter enjoyed renewing his friendship with outside linebacker Vince Biegel, a former UW teammate who found a home in South Florida by earning a starting assignment on the Dolphins defense in 2019. "He's a good guy to have around the (locker) room," Deiter said.
So, too, is quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, he has found. Probed on whether Miami's first-round draft pick had the "it" factor, Deiter said, "It seems like he does. The one thing I've noticed about him is his ability to work. He's a guy who's going to show up every day and work and focus on getting better.
"That's really the 'it' factor. You don't have to be a hero of any sorts. You just have to work."
Nobody knows that better than Deiter. All-Decade. All-Blue Collar. Cliché, but true.
