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Bucky's 5th Quarter Tournament: Greatest Wisconsin Walk-On

We're starting a brand-new, fan-driven tournament here at B5Q. Check the details below!

Who's Wisconsin's best walk-on product? Former safety Jim Leonhard could be it.
Who's Wisconsin's best walk-on product? Former safety Jim Leonhard could be it.
Chris Trotman

We at B5Q know it's a little over two months from football season. To pass the time, along with having a little bit of fun, we're putting together a series of elimination-style tournaments -- driven by you, the mighty Wisconsin fans -- on a variety of different Badgers-related topics. Our SB Nation cousins at Cageside Seats do a similar tournament, as seen here, and have graciously given their blessing for us to use a similar version here.

We're going to start off the tournament with one topic near and dear to many Badgers' fans hearts -- the Wisconsin walk-on program. Walk-ons have been a staple of the Wisconsin football program since the beginning of the Barry Alvarez era. Often "the glue" that binds the team together, as UW graduate assistant Luke Swan (himself a former walk-on) has said, many have been granted scholarships, named team captains and made an impact in the NFL. We want to name the Greatest Wisconsin Walk-On.

Because there are many to choose from, we're going to go to a field of 16 and work our way down. After the candidates are ranked and matchups are determined, we'll showcase one each day with you, the mighty Badgers fanbase, deciding who moves on in the tournament.

In this thread, which will remain open until Sunday night (the 29th), it's up to you to decide the walk-ons you feel deserve a spot in the tournament. Here's how you go about doing so:

  1. Write "Nominate -" and then the walk-on you wish to put up for consideration in the comments field below. Please be precisely clear in describing the walk-on you are nominating. You may nominate as many walk-ons as you wish, but only one walk-on per nomination comment. Feel free to add their collegiate stats to the body section of the comments section to make your argument compelling, along with any other fun facts you have. For example: Nominate - Jared Abbrederis.
  2. Each example represents a separate comment. Before nominating a walk-on, be sure to check the thread's comments to see if the player you have in mind has already been nominated. If so, you can simply "rec" that nomination. Recs will determine the participants that are chosen to be a part of this tournament, along with their ultimate seeding from Nos. 1-16.

Have fun with this, and we're looking forward to hearing your nominations below!