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Former Wisconsin Badgers tailback Montee Ball given one of college football's highest honors

Montee Ball rushed for 5,140 yards and 77 touchdowns in his college career at Wisconsin, setting numerous records along the way.
Benjamin Worgull|
Montee Ball (28) scores a touchdown getting past Nebraska's Andrew Green (11) during the second half as the University of Wisconsin earned a 70-31 win over Nebraska in the 2012 Big Ten Championship football game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 1, 2012.
Montee Ball (28) scores a touchdown getting past Nebraska's Andrew Green (11) during the second half as the University of Wisconsin earned a 70-31 win over Nebraska in the 2012 Big Ten Championship football game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 1, 2012. | Rick Wood / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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For likely the final time in his career, Montee Ball got to shine on one of college football's biggest stages.

Finding out in January he would be selected by the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College football Hall of Fame to be in the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class, Ball officially took his place in the Hall during the NFF Annual Awards Dinner in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

"It's such an honor just to play for a wonderful University, a wonderful athletic program," Ball said at his induction press conference. "Of course it's buying into the system. We had a wonderful coach at the time, Bret Bielema, and just literally listen to his philosophy, understanding the guys that he wanted to put on the team, put the puzzle together, and, of course, run the football."

In a post on social media, Bielema called Ball one of the best players he's "ever had the honor to coach." In reality, it was also one of Bielema's best recruiting finds.

In the fall of 2017, the buzz in the St. Louis region when it came to tailback was centered around Ronnie Wingo, a 6-2 back who had been clocked as fast as 10.78 in the 100 meters during high school. Wingo (who eventually committed to Arkansas) was generating most of the attention in the 2009 class, making Ball fly slightly under the radar in that region.

Rushing for over 3,000 yards (tops in the state) and 32 touchdowns his junior season, Ball got a host of junior day invitations to places like Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, the latter giving him his first scholarship offer and making him a high priority. Even as more offers and interest came in, the Tigers appeared to be the top school for Ball heading into Summer 2008.

Holding a one-day camp at Lindenwood University in Missouri, Wisconsin got a close look at Ball and pulled the trigger. Recruited by then-defensive coordinator Dave Doeren, Ball quickly fell in love with Wisconsin and the opportunities he had within the UW offense. Taking a visit less than three weeks after he was first offered, Ball committed shortly thereafter.

Helping Wisconsin win three-straight Big Ten titles, Ball was a two-time Big Ten Running Back of the Year, the 2011 Big Ten offensive player of the year, a consensus All-American and left college as the NCAA record holder in rushing (77), total touchdowns (83) and points scored in a single season (236).

He still holds the latter record, as well as being the only tailback to rush for 100 yards in three consecutive Rose Bowls.

"It was such a privilege to play with such a wonderful offensive line," Ball said. "Going into the Big Ten Championship game, understanding if we win it, we get to Pasadena. We understood that we didn't want to get to the finish line and stop, so we wanted to run through it."

The success for Ball took time. Coming to the program as the all-time leading rusher and scorer in the state of Missouri (8,222 yards and 107 TDs), Ball had a non-descript 2009 season that turned into a slow start to 2010, including totaling just 219 yards in the first seven games. However, Ball scoring the game-winning touchdown in a critical road win at Iowa turned his career around.

Breaking the 125-yards barrier the final five games of the season, Ball became a household name the next year with 1,933 yards and 33 touchdowns. He also caught six scores, tying Barry Sanders for most touchdowns in an FBS season, and made him a 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist.

Ball returned for his senior season and, despite suffering an off-the-field concussion to slow the start to his season, delivered 1,830 yards and 22 touchdowns to win the 2012 Doak Walker Award.

"In order to improve on the football field, i must study more tape, i must work out harder, I must ruin faster and get better," Ball said. "That's what I did."

A total of 17 former University of Wisconsin players or coaches have been enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame since 1955, including six in the past 25 years.

Year Inductee
1955 George Little (Coach)
1955 Dave Schreiner
1958 Harry Stuhldreher (Coach, elected as Notre Dame player)
1962 Phil King (Coach, elected as Princeton player)
1962 Pat O'Dea
1972 Robert Butler
1974 Elroy Hirsch
1975 Alan Ameche
1988 Marty Below
1993 Pat Harder
1996 Pat Richter
2010 Barry Alvarez (Coach)
2013 Ron Dayne
2016 Tim Krumrie
2019 Joe Thomas
2023 Troy Vincent
2025 Montee Ball

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Benjamin Worgull
BENJAMIN WORGULL

Benjamin Worgull has covered Wisconsin men's basketball since 2004, having previously written for Rivals, USA Today, 247sports, Fox Sports, the Associated Press, the Janesville Gazette, and the Wisconsin State Journal.

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