Wisconsin running back icon Montee Ball will serve as the Badgers’ honorary captain vs. Penn State on Saturday.
Ball, who was inducted into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame in 2023, will return to Madison for Wisconsin’s most significant contest at Camp Randall in years.
The 2013 NFL draftee departed Wisconsin as one of the most accomplished athletes in school history. Ball finished fourth in the 2011 Heisman Trophy voting behind Baylor QB Robert Griffin III, Stanford QB Andrew Luck and Alabama RB Trent Richardson. When he left campus, he also set the NCAA record for career touchdowns with 83.
Ball also pocketed two consensus first-team All-American honors, a pair of first-team All-Big Ten selections in 2011 and 2012, the 2011 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and the Doak Walker Award as a senior in 2012.
Former running back Montee Ball will be tomorrow’s honorary captain. 👐
A Badger from 2009-12 and UW Athletic Hall of Famer, Ball had one of the most prolific careers in program history, and helped establish the University of Wisconsin as RBU. He finished his Wisconsin career… pic.twitter.com/1Qih0le9qD
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) October 25, 2024
Wisconsin honored another running back legend, Ron Dayne, with a halftime ceremony against the Crimson Tide on Sept. 14.
In its storied history, UW has produced a collection of the greatest college running backs of all time. Dayne, Ball, Jonathan Taylor, Melvin Gordon, James White, Braelon Allen and Corey Clement are among the most notable playmakers to come through the Bdagers’ running back room over the past 30 years.