This has been a difficult offseason for the Wisconsin football family.
A few weeks ago, James Williams retired from playing competitive football after confronting the fact that he would need a third surgery for a torn meniscus.
That was a sad moment for a young man whose collegiate playing career was never able to get off the ground.
Now, the same thing can be said for Wisconsin tight end Luke Benzschawel, who announced on Monday that he, too, was stepping away from playing football after having to endure a fourth medical procedure on his knee:
— PantherJohn (@LukeBenzschawel) February 24, 2020
Luke Benzschawel was unable to play in any games from the 2019 college football season. He was officially pronounced as being out for the full season on Oct. 1 of last year. He had 15 appearances to his credit as a Badger football play, including four starts.
What makes this retirement especially poignant for Benzschawel and the Wisconsin football family is that the Benzschawels ARE family in the world of UW football.
The 6-foot-6 former three-star recruit had a deep family connection with UW. His brother, Beau, was an offensive lineman for the Badgers from 2015-18 before going pro and signing with the Detroit Lions. His father Scott played for the Badgers in the mid-1980s, and his uncle Eric played for UW from 1988-92.
Luke Benzschawel wanted to carry on a proud family tradition, and a series of absurdly unfortunate events prevented him from getting that chance in full. This is the poignancy of human events and a reminder that nothing is guaranteed to us.
The reality of injuries in sport is crushing not just because of the pain a human being has to go through — physically and emotionally — but also because injuries prevent us from seeing what a person was capable of. We all want to do our best in our work and our aspirations, but we also want to see others around us thrive. We want our colleagues and teammates and friends and family to succeed as well.
We at Badgers wire send our love, hugs, best wishes, and prayers to Luke and the extended Benzschawel family. This isn’t a death, but it is the end of a career, and that deserves an outpouring of affection from the wider Wisconsin community.