Cole Van Lanen, Eric Burrell on Transfer Topic with Big Ten Postponement
With the Big Ten Conference announcing its "postponement' of its fall sports earlier this week -- with the light shining on its football season -- some public conversation has taken place revolving around players transferring to other leagues that, at the moment, are still proceeding to move forward in the fall.
A question was asked to offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen on Friday during Wisconsin availability -- is that a "real concern" for UW or in a larger sense, the Big Ten?
Even in his case, as the Wisconsin left tackle hopes to get more film out as a potential NFL prospect, it is "a viable option for me, but I just can't even fathom doing that."
“I don't think any of us guys, especially seniors, could even think of doing that," Van Lanen said, who has played 40 games (14 starts) in the last three seasons for UW, via Zoom call. "There is a lot of uncertainty yet. We don't know if we’re even eligible for spring or next fall. That's stuff we got to consider, but I think right decisions will be made to allow that to happen, and I think we're all on the same page of that, but I can't see anyone really transferring out of this.
"I don't know though. You never know, but I can't see that or I've heard anything about that.”
Redshirt senior safety Eric Burrell was asked if, within that last few days since the Big Ten decision had been declared, he had thought about going to another program that was still slated to compete this fall.
The defensive back, who tied for the team lead in interceptions last year (three) while racking up 55 tackles and six pass breakups, was candid in his response.
"I'm not gonna lie. I did," Burrell said via the Zoom conversation with reporters. "I did do some thinking and some research and stuff, but then I'm realizing, 'Well, I love this place.' I think I accomplished a lot of things at this place. So I'm not in a great position, I'm not in a bad position. I don't regret anything, and I don't want to regret making that decision. I don't want people to feel like I'm turning on them so I definitely wanted to stay away from that.
"I think with most of the conferences shut down -- and you still got the SEC, the ACC and the Big 12 and stuff -- but my thing is, it's a lot of work for one. Two, you have to figure out what's the best fit for you because you literally have a year. Another thing is if you get there, and it turns out you don't like it or something like that, and then the season gets shut down, now it's like you're stuck there for a whole year without football.
"It's too much jumping through the hoops, and I'm like it's not worth it to me."
Ed. note: Stay tuned to AllBadgers.com over the coming days for more coverage off of Cole Van Lanen and Eric Burrell's Friday availability with reporters. Also lightly updated on Aug. 17 to lightly clean up second paragraph and added links below.
