BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — During a team photo shoot, punctuated by football mug shots and mugging for the camera, JP Benzschawel was encouraged to freestyle after executing the conventional poses.

The more he thought about it, the more he kept coming back to hunting, fishing and golf.

"I was thinking of things that I like," said the 18-year-old freshman.

The sight of the 6-foot-6-and-a-half, 295-pound Benzschawel following through on an imaginary golf swing was definitely an attention-grabber because of his size. Yet his mechanics were believable.

"I played golf in high school; I wasn't one of the top guys, but I was on the team," he explained. "I was an alternate. I played in one tournament. I didn't do so good, but I practiced with the team."

Smiling, he conceded, "I was able to work on my game and get some free golf out of it."

Benzschawel was better known for his gridiron prowess than short game at Grafton (Wisconsin) High School. As a senior, he was the recipient of the Joe Thomas Award honoring the state's top offensive lineman.

On recruiting lists, he was rated as a consensus four-star and the No. 1 player in Wisconsin. Based on his DNA alone, there was never any doubt on where he was going to school. Was there?

"Everyone thought I was a lock here," he said. "I'd have schools text me. Tennessee. Michigan State. Stanford. And they'd ask, 'Are you locked in on Wisconsin?' I'd tell them yes and they'd stop.

"I got offered my sophomore year and I committed on the spot. There's no other place where I'd rather be. This is O-Line U. This is home. I love it here."

This really is home for his family. The Benzschawels are synonymous with Badger football. JP's father Scott and his uncle Eric got scholarships here. So did his older brothers, Beau and Luke.

Although the Watts, the pride of Pewaukee, have clearly established their niche in UW history — J.J., Derek and T.J. are still playing today in the NFL — they're outnumbered, 5-3, by the Benzschawels.

"Another generation, another decade," JP pondered of the family legacy. "It's crazy."

The head of the clan, Scott, was recruited out of Monroe in 1983. At 6-7, 255, he was projected for the O-line. He wound up north of 300 and on the D-line. Paul Chryst was a Badger teammate.

"My dad taught me everything I know, I've learned everything from him," JP said. "He taught me how to play football, how to fish, how to hunt. He taught me everything I do."

On top of that, he cautioned all of his sons about the risks and rewards of the sport. Scott had six football-related knee surgeries which impacted his playing time with the Badgers. Not all was lost, though. While Scott was on campus, he met his future wife, Barcie, at the Lakeshore dorms.

Scott, meanwhile, never got a chance to play here with his brother, Eric, who was a member of Wisconsin's 1988 recruiting class. A prep defensive end, Eric was moved to tight end with the Badgers. His nephews, Beau and Luke, three years apart, were named all-state at that position in high school.

After the 2018 season, Beau Benzschawel left UW as a consensus first-team All-America offensive guard and a 49-game starter (including 43 straight). He was on teams that went 42-12 and 4-0 in bowls. An undrafted free agent, he's now on the NFL roster of the Washington Football Team.

Injuries caught up with Luke Benzschawel, who had four procedures on his knee and stepped away from the sport in February of 2020 after not getting on the field in 2019. He appeared in 15 games and made four starts at tight end. He would have been in line to come back for a sixth year in 2021.

"That would have been a blast playing together," JP said. "He misses it (football). But he's doing good. He's an orthopedic salesman. My brothers (Beau and Luke) shaped me as a person."

So did his mother, Barcie, he stressed.

"Best mom you could ask for, she did everything for me," said JP, glowing. "She'd make sausage and bacon in the morning. She'd do my laundry. She's the best.

"It's a lot different without her now. Just doing everything on my own, having a schedule I have to stick to, a new routine, it's a big change."

Benzschawel got to Madison in June after his high school graduation. He had no interest in being an early enrollee and jump-starting his college years. He conceded those freshmen who enrolled for the UW's spring semester "know more than us because they've been here longer."

But he added, "I wanted to enjoy high school as long as I could. You only have high school once and you're going to be in college for a long time. Might as well live out high school while you've got it."

Benzschawel is rooming with offensive lineman Nolan Rucci, a five-star from Warwick High School in Lititz, Pennsylvania. His older brother, Hayden, is a UW sophomore tight end.

"We both love fishing — Nolan loves golf, too — we like the same shows, and we love eating, we're big eaters," said Benzschawel, who has already found a local pizzeria to his liking. "I eat there three or four times a week … four super slices and breadsticks. That's my spot."

Riley Mahlman, another four-star offensive lineman in the 2021 recruiting class, went through spring drills with the Badgers. He was the No. 1 prospect in Minnesota (Lakeville South).

"We got to see Mahlman in the spring and he did a great job," said fifth-year senior Logan Bruss, the most experienced starter on the O-line. "I know as a young guy just getting thrown it that it can be pretty overwhelming. I hope we've done a good job of making them all feel welcome.

During Bruss' freshman orientation in 2017, he got support in the O-line room from some of the veterans: Michael Deiter, David Edwards, Micah Kapoi and Beau Benzschawel.

"They were really good leaders and they showed us how things were supposed to be done — they set a standard for us to carry on after they left," Bruss said. "It's kind of funny. I've played with all three of the (Benzschawel) brothers at some point in time … JP reminds me of Beau."

JP Benzschawel admitted that the pace has been picking up in advance of training camp. On Thursday, the Badgers will stage a Media Day at Camp Randall. The first practice is Friday.

"When I first got here, it was really slow," he said. "Now, the days are moving by really quick. And that's every day. It doesn't feel like we have 24 hours in a day. It feels like half of that."

Given the depth on the O-line — Bruss, Tyler Beach, Josh Seltzner, Kayden Lyles, Michael Furtney, Cormac Sampson, Tanor Bortolini have started games — Benzschawel has reasonable expectations.

"I'll probably redshirt, that's just a guess, because we have so many O-linemen," he said. "I want to soak in everything, learn a lot and try to be the best player and best person that I can be."

Par for the course. For yet another Benzschawel.