MADISON, Wis. - Donnel Thompson can be a talkative man – he's always aware of his audience and surroundings – but when he was asked to define his legacy, he offered a simple, two-word reply.
Â
"It's possible," he said.
Â
If you want to be a three-year starter at linebacker for the Wisconsin football team …
Â
If you want to go from unheralded walk-on to being a two-time captain of the Badgers …
Â
If you want to help UW win back-to-back Big Ten Conference titles …
Â
If you want to be part of a team that made history by becoming the first Big Ten school to repeat as Rose Bowl champions …
Â
If you want to play four seasons in the NFL as an undrafted free agent …
Â
"It's possible," Thompson said again.
Thompson with football head coach Barry Alvarez at the 1999 Big Ten Championship game
Thompson famously grew up on the west side of Madison, attended West High School, played football for his father and sold concessions at Camp Randall and the Field House all while "dreaming of going to play at UW."
Â
Thompson wound of playing four seasons under a Hall of Fame coach in Barry Alvarez, then moved on to the NFL where he was tutored by Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy, two other Hall of Famers.
Â
"He epitomized the type of player that I think we established in our program," Alvarez said. "He was a guy who came in without a lot of hoopla, without a scholarship, worked hard, did everything the right way.
Â
"He was just a grinder. We never had an issue with him. Always took care of his business. He was a tough guy who just loved football."
Â
Kevin Cosgrove was the UW defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 1990 to 2003.
Â
"You talk about a kid you loved to coach," Cosgrove said of Thompson. "He took everything personal. I just remember the intensity that Donnel would have if he made a mistake or I jumped on him. He'd be one of those guys foaming at the mouth because he was upset that he didn't do something right. He was an exacting kind of guy. It was all personal for him.
Â
"He certainly played with a chip on his shoulder. His performance certainly proves that.
Â
"Believe me, he had a major impact on the program," Cosgrove said.
Â
So much so, that Thompson is among the latest class of inductees to be named to the UW Athletic Hall of Fame. When his good friend and former teammate, Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh, broke the news to him, there were tears.
"Humbled and honored," Thompson said.
Â
It's the latest verification that Thompson found a way to make the possible in his life indeed possible.
Â
"To this moment, I'd have never thought any of those things were all possible," Thompson said. "They were all dreams. When I think of going into the Hall of Fame, it's a dream come true."
Â
Thompson led by example, mainly by responding to adversity in a positive way.
Â
"Leadership makes a difference," he said. "The reason why the University of Wisconsin has been so successful for so long across so many different programs is the leadership.
Â
"Leadership makes all the difference in the world. The thing is, I'm not sure I understood that at that age because I'd always been around really positive leaders."
Â
Thompson said leadership is a habit borne of personality, character and effort. Alvarez, among others, not only taught him that, they lived it.
Â
"We're going to be smart, we're going to be tough, we're going to be methodical, we're going to be disciplined and we're going to win," Thompson said, repeating a mantra that sustained UW players starting in 1990 when Alvarez took over the program and built it into a model operation. "They showed us those habits, Coach Alvarez coached those habits, then, as we became captains, we instilled those same characteristics, those same habits to our underclassmen. That's led to success over decades."
Â
Success and all sorts of possibilities.
Thompson with Rose Bowl trophyBEST OF THREE One: Pieces of eight
Thompson became the eighth player from the back-to-back Rose Bowl championship squads to be inducted into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame. Brooks Bollinger, Tom Burke, Ron Dayne, Jamar Fletcher, Aaron Gibson, Chris McIntosh and Kevin Stemke are the others.
Two: Lucky number
Thompson ranks 13th on the all-time single-season list for tackles with 141. He also had the 13th-highest career total with 347 tackles.
Three: Sound advice
Thompson was asked what advice he'd give to his 18-year-old self. "Buckle up," he said with a laugh. "It's going to be a heck of a ride."
