Lucas: Bortolini’s readiness has been rewarded with key roles
October 19, 2021 | Football, Mike Lucas
Young offensive lineman has proven his worth when pressed into service at multiple positions
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — After his Monday media obligations, Chimere Dike greeted Tanor Bortolini, one of his two roommates. The other is Jack Nelson. Call it an Odd Couple, Plus One. How does a wide receiver, Dike, wind up sharing an apartment with a couple of offensive linemen, Bortolini and Nelson?
"They're just good guys," said Dike, a member of the 2020 recruiting class along with Bortolini and Nelson. "We were all in close quarters last year in the dorms. Because of COVID, we were kind of separated from everybody, so we really got a good closeness with everyone in our (class).
"I connected with Tanor and Jack especially. I have a lot of good groups of friends on this team, so I'm thankful that I'm able to connect with those guys and kind of have a different reach on the team than maybe I wouldn't have otherwise.
"They're hard-working guys and I like to think that I'm a hard-working guy, too."
On road trips last season, Bortolini pointed out, "We bonded as the younger guys on the travel squad. We spent a lot of time together. We had a lot of time to chat and figure things out. Hey, I just really like these guys. It's been a good dynamic.
"He'll say what he sees in the pass game, and we'll tell him what we see in the run game."
Off the field, there may be an added benefit for Dike.
"The fridge is always stocked," chuckled the 306-pound Bortolini. "He's pretty happy with that."
"They always have the good snacks," Dike confirmed, "and I'm always well fed."
Whereas Dike is from Waukesha and Nelson from Stoughton, the 19-year-old Bortolini is from Kewaunee, a city of less than 3,000 on the northwest banks of Lake Michigan, a half-hour from Green Bay.
Kewaunee is home to a former Major League pitcher Jerry Augustine, who played 10 seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers (1975-1984); and a former NFL tight end Jack Novak, who played three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1975-77).
Bortolini is well aware of Novak's background with the Badgers. In 1974, Novak was named first-team All-Big Ten with tailback Billy Marek and tackle Dennis Lick. Today, Novak has an insurance agency in Kewaunee where he has helped coach the high school team, hence his connection with Bortolini.
As a prep senior, Bortolini had some recruiting options. He got nibbles from Ivy League programs like Harvard and Yale and admitted, "I thought about it. But, for me, a scholarship was pretty big and Ivy League schools can't offer. If they could, I would have definitely considered it a lot more."
Iowa, Syracuse, Miami and a number of FCS schools were in the running for Bortolini, who committed to the Badgers even though that position group was already well-stocked with earlier verbal commitments from Nelson, Trey Wedig, Dylan Barrett and Ben Barten (who's now on defense).
Bortolini was the first to see the field in that group. After starting center Kayden Lyles was injured in last season's Indiana game, he was pressed into service at that position, one that he hadn't played in high school. The following week, Bortolini made his first career start at Iowa.
"I saw it come full circle where you started to get recruited by them (Hawkeyes) and now you're playing against them," he said, confiding that he was a little awestruck. "A little bit. It was a night game in Kinnick. But without the fans, it made it feel more like a practice or scrimmage environment."
The importance of readiness was the lesson. Especially after Bortolini came off the bench in a moment's notice against the Hoosiers when Lyles went down in the first half. Lyles' backup, Cormac Sampson, was inactive, leaving the assignment up to the untested, unproven Bortolini.
"That dude came in ready to play," said quarterback Graham Mertz. "He really rallied the guys."
The importance of readiness was the carryover to this season. Bortolini has started the last two games at right tackle for the injured Logan Bruss, UW's most experienced O-lineman. That Bortolini has been operating next to his roomie, Nelson, the right guard, has eased his transition into the lineup.
"You've got to be ready whenever and that really helped this year when Logan got hurt — you just never know when guys are going to go down and not be available," reasoned Bortolini, who missed two weeks of training camp with an injury. "I had the mindset, 'Any game, I could be the guy going in.'
"Coming here, it's been kind of a learning curve. I started at left tackle in high school and played center my first year. That's a lot to learn as a young guy. But after year one, I felt pretty confident with everything that I've learned and the transition to right tackle has been good."
In 2021, the O-line has weathered considerable scrutiny for a misfiring offense. But Bortolini, for one, has not dwelled on any of the critiques. Instead, he says, "You can't let the outside control what you do about yourself. We're going to show up and we're going to work hard every day.
"We feel like we do what we do," he said, echoing a one-for-all, all-for-one mentality in the room. "Sometimes, it's not always the outcome you want. But the more you play together, the more you work together, the more you expect it to be smooth. The play will get better throughout the year."
On his offensive teammates recently airing some of the concerns amongst themselves, Bortolini said, "Expressing what you feel is the biggest thing. It's hard to address the problems if you don't know what the problems are. As a group, if you can speak to, 'Here's what we feel is wrong, here's what this group can do to help fix it, here's what we can do to help' — going forward it will be even better."
Lately, the Badgers have gotten a spark offensively from tailbacks Chez Mellusi and Braelon Allen in wins over Illinois and Army. Mellusi, the Clemson transfer, has rushed for over 100 yards three times in six games, while the 17-year-old Allen has gone over that mark in each of the last two games.
"They both show up every day, ready to work, ready to do whatever we need them to do," Bortolini said. "Chez is the more dynamic guy. He makes smooth cuts. Loves to get on the edge. Braelon is like, 'I'm going to run right through you.' We love that as an O-line. That's like our mentality."
Bortolini also singled out Brady Schipper for his doggedness in finding a way to contribute.
"I'm happy to see it pay off for him," said Bortolini, who, at that, sounded like someone who's having the time of his young life while subbing for Bruss. "I love playing football, obviously — just getting to go out there and cutting it loose for however many plays we get. It's been a lot of fun."
Saturday night, in particular, was special for Bortolini. And everybody else in uniform at Camp Randall Stadium. At the end of the game, the Wisconsin and Army players congregated at midfield and exchanged hugs and handshakes. It went well beyond the normal postgame exchange.
"It was like a respect thing," Bortolini said. "These are the guys who are going to be defending our country someday and they played a great game. They never gave up and you wouldn't expect them to. You've got to respect that. And I think they respected the way we came at it."
Respect, of course, is something that must be earned and something the O-line is still seeking.
"The offense is starting to click a little bit more," Bortolini suggested.
Purdue is the next referendum.
