The half-life of college journalism is fairly short. Terms for beats last at best three years, for columns only two. Turnover is constant and a necessary fact of life as staffers are forever graduating or moving on.
In light of that truth in this quasi-profession, here is a ""5 for 5,"" tracking the five best individual Badger seasons of the past five years.
Columnist's Note: That title is not ripped off from anywhere or anyone else... and if you believe that, stay in college for an extra year or two or three, the real world will not be kind to you.
5. Brian Calhoun, running back and John Stocco, quarterback 2005-'06
So we start by blatantly cheating on the whole ""individual season"" thing. Whatever. Calhoun was a mystery at seasons start, but 60 minutes in he had five scores. Four games in, he ran for 155 yards in the most epic Camp Randall game of the past five seasons, upsetting Michigan. Calhoun finished with a record 2,207 rushing/receiving yards and a record 24 scores; pretty impressive. Stocco similarly came in with little fanfare after a sophomore year that impressed no one. Yet he set the school record for most passing yards in a season, leading an offense that scored 34.3 points per game.
4. Jessie Vetter, goaltender 2008-'09
She falls so far mostly because none of her years stand above the rest. She won a third national title going 33-2-5. She broke her own single-season record with 14 shutouts. She capped it off with the Patty Kazmaier Award, for player of the year. Ranking second in the NCAA in goals allowed average was basically a blemish, since she probably should have ranked first.
Vetter's year goes no higher on this list, however, since her sophomore year could be seen as better in some ways and her sport features less overall competition.
3. Alando Tucker, small forward 2006-'07
Forget the near 20 points and five rebounds per game. For a moment put aside the fact that his team went 30-6 and earned the first No. 1 spot in the AP poll in school history (it lasted about two days before they lost). Even let go of how rough around the edges his game was. Consider the fact that a Badger--a member of the slow-it-down, hated-on-by-the-media, boring Badgers--was voted first-team All-American and a finalist for player of the year.
It's near unbelievable that in a sport with such depth of competition, a player on spunky little Wisconsin drew the attention and respect to earn such honors. To overcome the national preconceptions of UW basketball like that, he clearly did something right.
2. Joe Thomas, offensive tackle 2006-'07
Much ink has been spilt discussing the skill players that surrounded Thomas. Looking back on those two seasons, though, the man was a beast. His last year stands ahead, however, for a few reasons. First, he was a top-15 draft pick after his junior year but tore his ACL in the bowl game, while playing DEFENSE since the team was short on ends. He came back to an offense replacing Calhoun, along with the rest of its skill players and three offensive linemen. They didn't miss a beat as Thomas helped pave the way for P.J. Hill to rush for over 1,600 yards.
He capped the year with the Lombardi and Outland awards (for the best lineman or linebacker and the best interior lineman respectively) while being named consensus First Team All-American. NFL scouts seemed pretty impressed as he was drafted third overall in April.
1. Brian Elliott, goaltender 2005-'06
What to say about the best, the top and the end-all, be-all? He was the centerpiece of Wisconsin's sixth title team, and he really did anchor it. Their style was mostly defensive and hoisted much of the responsibility for wins and losses on the goaltender's back. Elliott never buckled. He won the goaltending triple crown, leading the nation in goals against (1.55 per game), save percentage (.938) and winning percentage.
After returning from an injury, Elliott secured the title by allowing three goals in four playoff games and turning away 40 shots in a 110-minuite triple-OT marathon game against Cornell in the regional final. So to get to number one, all it takes is a season of sheer and utter dominance along with a national title for one of Wisconsin's top teams. Not too shabby.
Have another performance in mind that should have made the list? E-mail Ben at breiner@wisc.edu.
