Though they have been anticipated blows, the personnel hits keep coming for this Wisconsin offense as we put a bow on the 2019 college football season and look ahead to 2020.
After yet another marvelous season as a junior, it was a foregone conclusion for most that Jonathan Taylor would bring his record-breaking collegiate career to a close and declare for April’s NFL draft rather than return to Madison with little left to prove. The two-time Doak Walker Award winner confirmed our suspicions last week.
However, there was some hope among Badger fans that junior wide receiver Quintez Cephus would opt to return for his senior campaign to build upon an improbably brilliant 2019 season. That being said, the odds always seemed to lean toward Cephus packing his bags to chase his NFL dreams, and he put an end to any speculation he would be back in the Cardinal and White next season when he declared for the draft on Monday.
The third and likely final early draft declaration for Wisconsin was announced today, with junior center Tyler Biadasz taking to Twitter to publicize his departure.
Thank you Wisconsin for all the great memories and letting me fulfill my lifelong dream of being a Badger. I look forward to competing at the highest level. The NFL has always been my biggest dream and I can’t thank enough all the people that helped me along the way. #GodisGood pic.twitter.com/jTsU9k2ON1
— Tyler Biadasz (@TylerBiadasz) January 8, 2020
Biadasz’s decision comes to the surprise of no one, as many felt he would move on to the NFL following his redshirt sophomore season last year, and he has been consistently selected in the first or second round of mock drafts throughout the last few months.
Originally brought to Madison as a lightly-recruited defensive lineman out of small-town Wisconsin, Biadasz has enjoyed a marvelous career as Badger that few could have saw coming. He started all 41 games of his career, which he capped off this season by being named a consensus first-team All-American and bringing home the Rimington Trophy, awarded to the nation’s top center.
Biadasz also leaves behind a legacy as the leader of an offensive line that paved the way for Taylor to rack up 6,174 rushing yards in the span of just three seasons.