All-Time Badgers by the Numbers

In case you missed this leading up to the Holidays, the Capital Times put out a pretty good list of the all-time Badgers, by the numbers.

Some honorable mentions from the Alvarez Era (given my age, that's what I'm competent to recall):

#1 Luke Swan (no argument with Brandon Williams): the Fennimore Flash didn't have the God-given talent that Williams did, but had the heart of a lion.

#2 Lee Deramus: Jamar Fletcher is the right pick here, but Deramus was a key cog in a hard-working team that brought the first Rose Bowl glory to Mad-town. Brian Calhoun would receive more votes if he had stuck around for one more year. Scott Starks had one of the great all-time Badger plays, returning Drew Brees's fumble for a touchdown to beat Purdue, vaulting UW to #4 in the nation (for a week or two).

#6 (pending) Isaac Anderson looks like he could be a great one. Better than Ike? That's a high bar, but I like what I see so far.

#9 Jonathan Orr: vs. Beckum? Tough call, I think. Two great ones.

#10 Taylor Mehlhaff: better than Samuel? No, but very important to the Badgers during his tenure.

#11 Darrell Bevell: 1993. 'Nuf said. Owen Daniels wasn't too bad, either. Either more important to the Badgers than their first black All-American (two times, too)? Probably not.

#14 John Hall or Kevin Stemke: apparently 14 is a [really good] kicker's number at UW.

#28 Anthony Davis: after his Freshman season, you always felt like there was a little more potential than he ever realized.

#29 Jeff Messenger: not at the front of the talent line, but a leader for the tough secondary for the '93 team.

#30 Zach Brown (also pending): I'm looking forward to seeing Clay and Brown as the two backs sharing most of the time. If he gets the snaps, he should take over the all-time #30 spot.

#33 Brent Moss: 1994 Rose Bowl MVP. "A tough out" as they say. A shame how his career went down, but before Fall 1994, he was as beastly a back as the Badgers had since Ameche and would've been a serious Heisman contender.

#39 PJ Hill: the Cap. Times limited this to players without any eligibility, surely PJ will take this spot when he leaves? I don't know. I've never been sold on him, and I'm still not.

#41 Terrell Fletcher: one of the better backs we've placed in the NFL; Chryst would drool all over a back like him. And he played second fiddle to Moss. Also at #41 Mark Zalewski: typifies the Wisconsin football story.

#44 Chris Pressley: for his academic exploits, but Donnel Thompson was a critical cog of those 98-99 teams, so academics alone don't get Chris there.

#45 Matt Berstein: beast of a fullback, but hard to say better than Greisen and his 7-year (and counting) NFL career.

#47 Eric Unverzagt: a staple for the '93 team, and an all-time linebacker name. Better than a 1937 first round pick for the Packers? Who knows.

Most of the lineman I recall made the list, but #67 Dan Buenning and #68 Mark Tauscher are notable exceptions on the offensive side. Two stick out on the defensive side (below).

#77 Anttaj Hawthorne: beastly defensive tackle. Difference between him and Wendell Bryant is Bryant played on a better Badger team.

#82 Elmars Ezerins: made some key plays in the 1963 Rose Bowl comeback including a fumble recovery that led to a touchdown; nearly blocked the USC punt at the end to give Wisconsin a chance to win. Besides, he's a friend's dad.

#88 Chris Chambers: didn't run great routes, but scored great touchdowns . . . and still does. Obviously can't beat out Pat Richter, but one of the better big-play threats we've had since I've been paying attention.

#89 (pending) Garrett Graham: a shoe-in; another in a recent line of great tight ends.

#90 Erasmus James: nasty at end; but for a nasty Gopher cut block, the 2004 sqaud might (and I stress "might") have made the Rose Bowl.