NFL’s loss is gain for UW on offensive line
MADISON – The subject matter was weighty and worthy of serious contemplation and debate:
Should they enter the 2018 NFL draft or return to Wisconsin and make another run at a Big Ten title and perhaps a national championship?
The mood was light:
Three teammates, each carrying more than 300 pounds on their hulking frames, turned pondering the future into a bonding exercise.
Michael Deiter, Beau Benzschawel and David Edwards refused to allow their journey to become onerous. According to Deiter, the three friends used each other as sounding boards.
“We were like: ‘Well, what do you want to do? Well, what do YOU want to do? I’m not doing if you’re not doing it,’ ” Deiter explained.
“So it was fun. I think that made it easier for all of us. There was a lot less pressure when you’ve got guys to do it with.”
In the end, all three offensive linemen eschewed leaving school early despite garnering All-American honors last season and are set to be on the field at 8 p.m. Friday at Camp Randall Stadium when UW hosts Western Kentucky.
Although Deiter started all 14 games at left tackle last season because he was UW’s best option to replace Ryan Ramczyk, he is back at left guard for his final season.
Edwards, a redshirt junior, is back at right tackle. He has 21 starts at that position, including 14 last season.
“Prior to the season starting the NFL wasn’t even on my radar,” Edwards said. “So to think that I was going to leave? I just wasn’t prepared.”
Benzschawel, like Deiter a fifth-year senior, is set at right guard. He has started 36 consecutive games, including the last 30 at right guard.
“You just think about all the good times you have in college,” Benzschawel said of the trio’s decision to return to UW. “We didn’t want to be done with it.
“We love Wisconsin. We love playing football here. We like to be around each other.
“I think we just wanted to be better than we were last year. I think we felt like we had something to prove to ourselves and to the whole team.”
UW’s 2017 line was good. Jonathan Taylor rushed for a freshmanrecord 1,977 yards and UW finished third in the Big Ten in total offense at 415.0 yards per game.
Yet the line met its match against Ohio State in the Big Ten title game.
Taylor was held to a season-low 41 yards and 2.7 yards per carry. Quarterback Alex Hornibrook was under pressure for most of the game and finished 19 of 40, with two interceptions, as the Buckeyes held on for a 27-21 victory that knocked UW out of the College Football Playoff.
“Obviously, they were the best defensive line we faced all year,” Benzschawel said. “You keep those games in the back of your mind and it kind of drives you through hard days.
“You think about the plays you messed up in those big games and what the difference could have been.”
Edwards received the highest draft grade of the three, in part because of his outstanding play and in part because tackles are more coveted than interior linemen.
Edwards likely would have been selected in the first three rounds. Deiter and Benzschawel were projected to be taken in the fourth round or later.
“They wanted to come back to accomplish something we never have before – like winning a national championship,” redshirt sophomore center Tyler Biadasz said. “I think for them it is awesome and I really appreciate it.”
UW coach Paul Chryst was asked if the players made the right decision. Chryst said without hesitation that what the coaches think is irrelevant but added he thought all three players made wise choices in that each can be better prepared for the NFL after this season.
“I think that there is a fine line,” he said. “I think every kid that comes in – almost every kid – they want to have an opportunity to play at the next level.
“Really what you want, when they are done with their time at Wisconsin that they are ready and confident for the next chapter in their lives.
“So just because they could play there … you want to make sure that they’re ready for it.
“And therefore, I thought all of them still have room to grow. You get one chance to enter into that next stage and you want them to feel really ready and truly confident.
“Now if they did come back, we better sure as heck give them another step and opportunity for growth so they can say that was a good decision.”
UW’s line has been labeled by some analysts as the best in the Big Ten and perhaps the best in the nation.
The No. 1 goal of the unit?
“I think it is to be dominant in every game,” Benzschawel said. “I think we have the potential to do that this year and we’ve just got to keep grinding toward that.
“If we do that and we can be dominant every game, no matter what the look is and what front they give us, that will help us and we can take this team where we need to go.”