Lucas: Even as Tippmann’s profile continues to grow, ‘Joe is Joe’
December 20, 2021 | Football, Mike Lucas, Bowl Central
Wisconsin’s hard-nosed — and still humble — center long ago proved himself a leader
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Jason Garrett has shared his favorite Joe Tippmann story so many times with so many different people that the Fort Wayne (Indiana) Bishop Dwenger High School coach has often apologized upfront to listeners who may have already heard it. And then he tells it again.
"It's one that is always etched in my mind," Garrett said.
Even Tippmann, Wisconsin's starting center, admitted, "I've heard him tell it four or five times."
Last week, Garrett told it again at his team's football banquet with this context, "The young man I'm speaking about as a manager was a freshman when Joe was a senior. He's an incredible young man. I said to him, 'You've come so far, and I still remember that conversation.' He had a big smile on his face."
It was during Tippmann's senior year that Bishop Dwenger won the 2018 Class 4A state championship by outlasting Evansville Central, 16-10, in four overtimes at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Tippmann played both ways. A cousin, TJ Tippmann, scored the game-winning touchdown.
The title came in Garrett's first season as the program's head coach.
"We were a couple of games into the season," Garrett remembered, "and when I sat down with the managers, it was kind of 'How's it going?' and it was about the scheduling and what they needed from me. We're chatting and a young, innocent manager, growing into his body and mind, sits up.
"Coach, you know who the nicest guy on the team is?
"No, who is the nicest guy on the team?
"Really? Well, that's great to hear. Why do you say that?
"I'm at lunch and nobody wants to sit by me. I don't really have a lot of friends and I didn't go to school with a lot of these kids. So, I'm sitting there by myself, and Joe comes over and sits at the table with me. And the next thing you know everybody is sitting with me."
No matter how many times he has spun the story, Garrett never tires of the punch line.
"When your best player, your most physical player — the player everybody is looking to and is getting all this attention (as a 4-star recruit)," Garrett stressed, "is able to do that in the lunchroom away from the field, that tells you everything you need to know about Joe Tippmann."
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Garrett has closely followed Tippmann's steady development as a first-year starter for the Badgers at a position that he had never played before — all culminating with Tippmann earning All-Big Ten honorable mention at center from both the coaches and the media covering the conference.
"We always knew that he had great athleticism and I think that's been on display all year," he said. "And then there's the knowledge of the game that he has gained since being there in making the calls and making the checks and different things. I just think he's done an outstanding job."
When Tippmann is in Fort Wayne, he'll drop by the school to see Garrett. Same old Joe. After Tippmann won the Euell A. Wilson Award as a senior for his impact and leadership in the Summit Athletic Conference and community, Garrett has been fond of saying "Joe is Joe" to accent his humility.
"With everything that has happened in his life and the success that he's had — in going away to college in a high-profile program, changing positions and everything like that," Garrett said, "he comes home and he's simple Joe. It hasn't changed him the least. I think it has made him even more humble."
Another Joe — Wisconsin offensive line coach Joe Rudolph — can attest to Tippmann's character.
"He's got a really unique way of leading," Rudolph said. "He's very conscientious of doing his job and doing his job well. But he knows how to relax off the field. He brings a presence with the guys. They're calm around him. That's good out of a center. You can't have a guy who's nervous or anxious.
"He brings a really good sense of leadership, and he does it in his way."
The Badgers are in the midst of preparation for their Dec. 30 matchup with Arizona State in the Las Vegas Bowl. During a recent practice, a freshman O-lineman was seated on the turf and fidgeting with his knee brace. Tippmann saw that he was struggling and helped out. Even tied his shoe for him.
Asked about it later, he suggested that it was something that comes naturally. No big deal.
Without exception, he said, "I care about every one of those guys in the locker room."
Being a good player and good teammate are not mutually exclusive. Not for Tippmann. Speaking on his attentiveness to others, Rudolph said, "That's been passed on to him in a positive way. He displays that and it's why a lot of guys trust him. That's a quality you need maybe most in a center."
As a sociable guy, by his own admission, Tippmann is comfortable with being "someone who just looks out for everybody." As such, he believes in "doing your best to develop a relationship with every guy on the team, a personal relationship" knowing how fundamental it is to being a leader.
Tippmann, a redshirt sophomore, has formed a bond with starting right guard Jack Nelson, a redshirt freshman who also earned honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition. They both got a miniscule taste of playing time during the 2020 season — Tippmann at guard and Nelson at right tackle.
"We were in it together," Tippmann said of the growing pains that both have experienced. "With the intensity and the way that that Nellie carries himself, I knew we were going to have a good relationship and good connection and eventually we were going to be able to do some good things."
Tippmann knew that there would be some setbacks, too. Like the Notre Dame loss.
"After a game like that," he said of the 41-13 loss to the Irish in late September, "you have to take a step back, look at what you did good, look at what you did bad and then correct all the things that you can to be able to come into the next game confident and ready to go and cut it loose.
"That really helps you learn about yourself, learn about how you can grow from things. You get presented with an adversity and how you handle that, how you come out the other side, I think that really shows your character and how you can deal with that kind of stuff."
On whether his confidence waned at all, he replied, "No, I don't think so. Like I said, I had to take a step back. I knew all the O-line had my back. Graham (Mertz) had my back. And I was able to take a step forward with all of them. And we were able to take a step forward as an O-line."
Big step. After a 1-3 start, the Badgers won seven straight and averaged 267 rushing yards.
"I don't think there was a specific moment," Tippmann said of any play or sequence or game that could be viewed as a turning point. "It was kind of when our running game really started to hit and we were starting to take pride in running down defenses, making big plays, while running the ball."
Since the winning streak coincided with the emergence of freshman Braelon Allen as the meal ticket, Tippmann was quizzed on whether the offense grew as Allen grew up and into a role. Smiling, he said, "I don't know technically if you could say grew up … he is only 17 years old."
You wouldn't know it by his play. Allen posted seven consecutive 100-yard plus rushing games.
"Since camp, when we'd see him run, every time he'd come into the huddle, the whole O-line got excited," said Tippmann, recalling a specific run against Eastern Michigan signaling Allen was different. "It's what Rudy likes to say, 'You know I've seen some guys … Braelon is one of those guys.'"
Rudy is Rudolph, who was a starting guard for the Badgers and blocked for the likes of Brent Moss and Terrell Fletcher. Some of the other guys that he has seen — while on the UW coaching staff — have been P.J. Hill, John Clay, James White, Melvin Gordon, Montee Ball and Jonathan Taylor.
To put Allen in that company says it all. To see the 6-foot-6, 320-pound Tippmann pulling and leading interference for Allen separates Tippmann from others. And it places him in a select group of Badger centers who have been able to get out and run and block effectively on the perimeter or in space.
"To the question about pulling," said Garrett, who played Tippmann at left tackle, "it's just about his athleticism. We always knew that he had it and he was exceptional. When those guys (college recruiters) came in, they always asked, 'Can he bend and move?' And they were able to see that."
Rudolph echoed the same things, "I had all the confidence in the world in him pulling. He can get out and run. He can move and he's really strong. So he offers you both: really powerful at the point of attack and has the athleticism to get up on the second level and out on the edges. Kind of a rarity."
On finding that comfort zone, Tippmann said, "I definitely enjoy pulling. Whenever we can get that into the game plan, I love to get out in space. Early in the season, it really wasn't something I was doing, I was focusing more on staying inside. But I feel like I can make a difference while pulling."
It's easy to forget sometimes that Tippmann didn't have contact last spring. He was still rehabbing from shoulder surgery. It's also easy to forget sometimes that Tippmann had never played center in a game. After making the position move, he was second string at the start of training camp.
"I would say going into camp, I didn't feel physically behind but I hadn't played football with pads on for almost a year at that point — the reps were what I needed," Tippmann said. "I don't think it was huge but there was a little bit of an adjustment period (to center) at the beginning.
"Once I got through it, I felt that I was really able to cut it loose and just play fast."
Rudolph observed the incremental progress and then added, "Once we hit week three or four, I just thought there was really amazing growth. It was not like, 'OK, I'm getting the job done. I know who to go to. I know what to do.' There was just more confidence in how he wanted to execute."
The Badgers will lose two fixtures on the offensive line: left guard Josh Seltzner, a first-team All-Big Ten choice; and right tackle Logan Bruss, the most experienced player on the unit. Left tackle Tyler Beach is still undecided on his future. That leaves Tippmann and Nelson as the known returning starters.
Joining them in the mix will be Tanor Bortolini, Logan Brown, Michael Furtney, Cormac Sampson, Trey Wedig, Nolan Rucci, Riley Mahlman, and JP Benzschawel. It's a good mix. Plus, there are the recent additions in the 2022 signing class: Joe Brunner and Barrett Nelson, Jack's younger brother.
"Joe Brunner is a slobberknocker; he's a physical, get-after-your-tail guy," Rudolph said. "He knows how to have fun competing. I love that in him. And Barrett, man, his development has really been off the charts. Size, speed, strength. I couldn't be more excited about those two."
Tippmann hosted Nelson on his official campus visit.
"Barrett is a great kid," he said. "And I've heard awesome things about Joe."
The future always looks bright in his eyes. But, for now, the focus is solely on Arizona State. The Badgers, as a team, came up painfully short at Minnesota. Tippmann doesn't have to be reminded. "We just need to always grow from it in every area we can in order to make something out of that," he said.
Like he grew after the Notre Dame game. He showed his fight and character. Joe is Joe.
