UW’s Steffes battles to the end
Injuries didn’t stop tight end
Arlington, Texas — Eric Steffes’ Wisconsin résumé, though not gaudy, is fascinating.
“He has been through a lot,” said Joe Rudolph, UW’s offensive coordinator/line coach. “He has been here for eight years. He is doing a good job right now. Just don’t tell him.”
Eight? Not quite. But the graduate of Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs High School has been at UW since the 2011-’12 academic year.
“I have been here for a while,” the fifth-year senior tight end said with a smile.
Steffes, who had surgery on both shoulders as a senior in high school, grayshirted at UW in 2011. Although he was enrolled at UW, he didn’t practice with the team. He delayed joining the program until the spring of 2012 and redshirted that season.
“I went on hunting trips with my dad and my brother, stuff you wouldn’t have time to do once you are here,” Steffes said when asked about what he did on weekends in the fall of 2011. “So it was nice to get to do some stuff. But then again I fell behind. All I was doing was working out. I wasn’t involved with the team.
“I wouldn’t say I grew away from football, but I wasn’t really into it.”
Redshirting in 2012 was better — albeit slightly.
“That made waiting just a long time,” he said. “But I needed it. I wasn’t ready.”
Steffes is preparing for his final game at UW — the 2017 Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2 against Western Michigan.
His primary job is to block, though after going without a reception in 2013 and ’14 Steffes has a combined 10 catches for 84 yards in the last two seasons.
Steffes’ injury history reveals a player who kept plugging away to contribute in any way possible.
He played in six games as a redshirt freshman in
2013, in part because of a thumb injury. His 2014 season was cut short at eight games when he suffered a season-ending knee injury at Rutgers on Nov. 1. Steffes missed the final six games that season and all of spring ball.
“I wouldn’t say you don’t feel part of the team,” he said, “but you don’t feel as close to the guys when all you’re doing is rehabbing.
“It is the long periods of time being away from the guys, being in the training room instead of being with them in meetings.”
Aside from the knee injury, the biggest pain was a balky back. As late as August, Steffes missed practice time because he couldn’t move well enough to be on the field.
“That is something I’ve kind of embraced,” he said. “It’s kind of how it is.
“It was something that built up over time. It’s not something that is too serious, but when it flares up it gets really bad.” How bad? “Even falling asleep is really hard because you can’t get comfortable,” he said. “And if you sit in a chair you can’t get up. You can’t bend down to pick anything up.
“When it flares up it is really bad. Luckily it hasn’t been bad for a while.”
Increased stretching, both before and after practice, has helped.
“I’ve been doing that as much as I possibly could,” he said.
Despite the medical issues, Steffes has a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and is pursuing a master’s degree in the same field. He has been named academic All-Big Ten four years in a row. Honorees must carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
The individual highlight for Steffes this season? That came in the Big Ten opener against Michigan State. Steffes caught a 1-yard touchdown pass — his first at UW — to give the Badgers a 7-3 lead with 25 seconds left in the opening quarter. They went on to rout the Spartans, 30-6.
“I was hoping at some point it would get called,” he said. “Even the night before I was talking with my parents at the hotel and said: ‘We’ve got a play drawn up. Just keep your eyes open at the goal line. I might score my first touchdown.’
“It happened and it was really cool.”