Helping those in need
Ex-UW players Watt, Wood share vision
MADISON – Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst doesn’t spend his free time researching how former UW players J.J. Watt and Jake Wood have dedicated time, energy and whatever resources were necessary to better the lives of ordinary people facing extraordinary challenges.
“Put it this way,” Chryst said. “You don’t have to pay attention and you know.
“That is what’s pretty amazing.” The off-field work done by Watt, a standout defensive end at UW in 2009 and ’10; and Wood, a reserve offensive lineman who lettered in 2003 and ’04 before graduating, is best described as amazing.
Wood, from Bettendorf, Iowa, is a former Marine and the co-founder and CEO of Team Rubicon.
Team Rubicon, founded in 2010 by Wood and fellow Marine William McNulty, describes itself as “an international disaster response nonprofit that unites the skills and experiences of
military veterans with first responders to rapidly provide relief to communities in need.”
Wood, 35, served in Iraq in 2007 and Afghanistan in ’08.
Members of Team Rubicon have traveled around the globe to help rebuild in the wake of hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and tornadoes.
“His story is fascinating,” Chryst said. “The Wisconsin (angle) is an important part of it but it is such a small chapter.”
Wood earlier this year received the Pat Tillman Award for Service.
The honor was deserved and fitting. Wood was moved to join the military after seeing Tillman walk away from the NFL and join the Army in June 2002 because of the 9/11 attacks. Tillman was killed by friendly fire on April 22, 2004, in Afghanistan.
Wood gave a stirring speech after accepting the award during the ESPYs in Los Angeles.
“Both the military and sports have an incredible ability to make differences in our society disappear,” Wood said during the acceptance speech. “Things as simple as uniforms let team colors like red, blue or gold or a camouflage pattern unite us rather than have colors like white, black or brown divide us.”
Joel Nellis, a graduate of Madison Memorial High School, was a reserve tight end at UW and a teammate of Wood. The two remain close today. “When he got the award, I was very choked up,” Nellis said. “Because I knew how much Pat Tillman’s decision to go serve affected Jake’s decision to then pursue that career.
“I think you see someone who commands the respect of everyone who serves in that organization.”
Watt, 29, is the president and founder of the Justin J. Watt Foundation, a charity organization designed to provide afterschool opportunities for children.
The foundation’s motto – Dream Big, Work Hard – can be found on wristbands and T-shirts. Since the foundation was launched in 2010, sales of shirts and wristbands have accounted for more than $1 million.
When Hurricane Harvey caused horrific flooding in Houston last summer, Watt used the Internet to reach out to fans and Twitter followers. He vowed to raise $200,000 to help Houston residents affected by the flooding.
The final tally surpassed $37 million. Watt, preparing for his eighth season with the Houston Texans, also pledged $10,000 to the family of Sun Prairie fireman Cory Barr, who died in an explosion last month.
Clay Iverson, who coached J.J. Watt and younger brothers Derek and T.J. at Pewaukee High School, noted that the death of Barr hit close to home for the oldest of the three Watt boys.
“His dad is a retired firefighter,” Iverson said. “That is a hard-hitting one for him, knowing how influential his father has been in his journey.”
Watt won the 2017 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award for his work to help the city of Houston recover from Hurricane Harvey.
“This award is about the inherent good that lies within humanity,” Watt said after he accepted the award. “It’s about the city of Houston and its ability to overcome adversity at a time when it all seemed lost.
“It is about the hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country and all over the world who donated to a city they may have never been to, to people that they may never meet.
“But they donated simply because they saw their fellow humans going through a difficult time and they wanted to help out.”
Iverson isn’t surprised to see J.J. Watt’s hunger for helping others.
“That is how he was raised,” Iverson said. “This is what you do. You do what you can.”
Bret Bielema was UW’s defensive coordinator in Wood’s final season at UW and was Watt’s head coach.
He recently joined the staff of the New England Patriots as a consultant to head coach Bill Belichick.
According to Bielema, J.J. Watt approached him while at UW and inquired about setting up a charitable foundation.
“That was the first indication of how much he loves to give back,” Bielema said before joining the Patriots. “Anybody that is thinking about that as a college student, that hasn’t played a down in the NFL, about how he can give back to his community indicates what he is all about.
“It is 100% authentic and it didn’t happen by chance. All J.J. is doing is what J.J. was raised to be.”
Bielema sees the same in Wood, who was hampered by persistent shoulder injuries at UW.
“He is a tenacious individual who has to out-work his competition,” Bielema said. “That is Jake Wood times 1,000.”