In Wisconsin’s 1999 Rose Bowl matchup against UCLA, everyone in America knew about Badgers’ standout running back Ron Dayne, and everyone in America also knew about Cade McNown and UCLA’s unstoppable offense.
But little did anyone know that a backup freshman defensive tackle for Wisconsin would end up being one of the impact players in the game. Wendell Bryant, who had played in all 12 games but hadn’t even started that season, came up with the game of his life, helping lead Wisconsin to a 38-31 win in its first Rose Bowl appearance in five years.
The freshman made four tackles in that game — two for losses — and batted down two passes at the line of scrimmage, helping to disrupt McNown just enough to earn Wisconsin the win. As recognition of his efforts, Sports Illustrated put Bryant on its All-Bowl team.
One year later, the now well-known Bryant brought his loud, aggressive style of play back to Pasadena to face Stanford. After four more tackles — once again two for losses — Bryant had solidified his spot as one of the top lineman in the country.
“Anytime we’re in a big game he always comes to play. He always makes the big plays,” junior defensive end Ben Hebert said. “That first game he had against UCLA in the Rose Bowl got his name out. The season that he had his freshman year, to play like he did in the Rose Bowl just kind of finished things off strong for him and he carried that over into last year and had a strong (Rose Bowl) as well. He’s the type of player that any time you have a playmaker like that you need him to come and make big plays in big games and he’s done that.”
Bryant’s stellar play in the past two Rose Bowls helped him earn numerous preseason All-American honors this fall. The junior stands as a 6-foot-4, 293-pound anchor of one of the best defenses in the country.
Wisconsin routinely plays eight defensive linemen, but Bryant has distinguished himself as the premier player on the Badgers’ front line.
“He’s a guy that I think is a special player,” coach Barry Alvarez said. “I would classify him as an elite player, a guy that can make plays, a guy that has a chance to dominate a game.”
Bryant uses his unbelievable physical skills to dominate in a way that few players at the collegiate level can. Almost every week he has been able to manhandle opposing offensive linemen using those skills and an intense intellectual approach to the game.
In addition to being named first-team All-Big Ten in his sophomore year by both the coaches and the media, the history major was also academic All-Big Ten in 1999.
“He’s a specimen,” senior rush end John Favret said. “He’s tall with real long arms. He can get off the ball quick and he uses his hands well.”
The combination of Bryant’s physical and mental aptitude forces Wisconsin’s opponents to plan around him, sometimes creating matchups that strongly favor the Badgers.
“Right away he’s going to gain attention from the offense,” Hebert said. “They’re going to have to look a little bit longer and look at things a little bit harder to maybe gameplan a little bit around some of the things he can do.
“Any time you have a player of his caliber they’re going to pay a little more attention to him and so if they have some double-teams or some special schemes set up just to block him that’s always going to let one of the other three guys come loose and make a play.”
If Bryant isn’t occupying multiple offensive linemen physically, he often manages to take them out of their games mentally. Known for his trash talking on the field, Bryant has been able to get underneath the skin of more than one of his opponents.
“You can have all the fun you want, but when the game is going on you need to be able to look the opponent in the eye and say, ‘You’re not getting past me,'” Bryant said. “And you have to be confident enough to keep a straight face.”
Teammates say that Bryant’s tendency to talk and no-nonsense personality on the field are just a part of his nature, and that he uses his smarts and his mouth together to get into the offense’s head.
“Anytime we’re having fun out there there’s going to be a little trash talking, you know, this and that,” Hebert said. “Whether it’s practice or it’s a game he’s out there playing to have fun. If there’s something he can use against an opponent he does that, and it works to his advantage. It kind of helps get the other guys on the defense going as well. It lightens the spirits, I guess you could say. It gets everybody relaxed and makes it easier to play.”
While few would dispute that Bryant is one of the best players in the country on the defensive side of the ball, some might try and make the argument that Wisconsin’s defense would still be dominant without its centerpiece.
But last week, the Badgers discovered just what it was like to play without their star junior. Without Bryant, as well as a number of other the team’s starters, because of the “Sneakergate” suspensions, Wisconsin nearly suffered a shocking defeat at home against lowly Cincinnati. The 28-25 overtime squeaker left little doubt as to how important he is.
“You hate to go into a game without (him),” Alvarez said. “When you have a handful of players like that, naturally you hate to go into a game without him. But he also enjoys the game. He plays it with great enthusiasm and that, I believe, is contagious. Just having him back as well as a few of our other players will be a huge boost to our other guys.”
