With his back to the student section and the Wisconsin Badgers facing a fourth-and-19 in the midst of a blowout, redshirt freshman punter Sean West fielded a high snap standing on his own two-yard line. He gathered the football, lifted it to punt and then did the unthinkable. With an open field to his right, 33 yards from his feet to the first-down marker, and an entire stadium expecting a punt, West took off running.
West made the call to run himself, and he said he had no idea how much yardage he had to gain, figuring it was a 4th-and-5. But as he took off, he had almost the entire field fooled and sprinted unbothered for 25 yards.
Ohio State safe-man Leroy Roker III, the one player who didn’t take West’s bait, closed in on him at the 27 yard-line, but West was able to shake off the tackle, made another Ohio State player miss, and stumbled his way to a first down.
The uncalled fake punt was Wisconsin’s only memorable positive moment of the game and was indicative of West’s role in Wisconsin’s season as a whole — a bright spot shining through a year that had its fair share of struggles.
The Badgers finished the season 4-8, their worst mark in 35 years. There were low points, like losing to Maryland at home and then getting bludgeoned by Iowa and Ohio State. But players like West — young, successful and hungry — show there is reason to believe Wisconsin’s fortunes can turn around.
West, an in-state player from Mequon, brings the passion of a kid that spent a childhood dreaming of playing for the Badgers. Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell described him as a player “that is dying to be here.”
He was raised a Badgers fan and regularly attended games with his family at Camp Randall throughout his childhood.
“I always wanted to go to Madison. It was my number one dream school,” West told The Daily Cardinal. “I had pictures of Wisconsin football in my room as a kid.”
Throughout his youth, West was always a good athlete, excelling in soccer, hockey and lacrosse in addition to football.
In middle school football, he played a variety of positions, including quarterback, defensive end and linebacker, but he made the most impact with his leg.
“From playing soccer when I was a kid, I knew I had a decent leg,” West recalled. “So I kind of just went and tried out for kicker.”
He, and others, soon discovered his leg was more than decent.
“Nobody would expect a middle school kid to be able to kick the ball that far,” Drake Zortman, West’s head football coach at Homestead High School, told the Cardinal. “He would kick off, and then the [opposing] team would have to turn around and run backwards to get it.”
West progressed through the youth ranks, and by his sophomore year, was named Homestead’s starting kicker and punter, where he initially struggled.
In his junior season, however, things changed. West went 5-for-5 on field goals and was quickly making a name for himself in the state’s prep kicking circles.
“He did nothing but get better,” Zortman said.
Realizing his potential, West devoted the summer after his junior year to perfecting the craft of kicking. He traveled the country to participate in kicking and punting camps, where he developed skills that college recruiters noticed.
Still, West largely operated under the radar. Heading into his senior season, he only received interest from Division II and III schools. By the end of the season, it looked like if West wanted to play high-level college football, it would have to be over 15 hours from home, as Wyoming was the only Division I school to offer interest.
But two nights before he was set to fly out to Laramie for a visit, Wisconsin special teams analyst Spencer Rymiszewski gave West a follow on Twitter and invited him to Camp Randall for a game visit that weekend. Although he had the Wyoming trip planned for weeks, West exuberantly accepted Rymiszewski’s invitation.
“I was kind of freaking out,” West said.
In a drastic change of events, West was suddenly being recruited by his childhood team. But after the visit, months went by without West hearing any more word from Madison. He eventually contacted Wisconsin kicker Gavin Lahm, who told West that Rymiszewski had accepted a position at Kent State. From there, West got back in touch with Wisconsin. He went on an unofficial visit in April 2023, and days later, when assistant special teams coordinator Eric Raisbeck offered a scholarship, West committed on the spot.
As the reality set in — that he fulfilled a childhood dream — West also immediately realized he would have to double down on the same principles that brought him to Wisconsin: hard work and a commitment to excellence.
West spent his freshman season in Madison buried on Wisconsin’s special teams depth chart and struggled adapting to a smaller role.
“When you come to college as an athlete, you have dreams of beating people out and playing your first year,” West said. “But last year, I didn't have a great year, punting wise.”
While he didn’t see the playing field, being part of a program he grew up idealizing lit a spark, fueling a deep desire to succeed.
“I remember just going down the hallways, [seeing] the legends that have played here like JJ Watt, all those guys,” West said. “I was always so jealous of them and wanted to be like them.”
Heading into this season as a redshirt freshman, West didn’t expect to play. His plan was to continue improving physically and mentally. But West had a great fall camp, found consistency in his punting and caught the eyes of the coaching staff.
His progress continued throughout the season, and with the Badgers reeling in mid-October, coaches told West he would receive some in-game action. His first appearance came against Ohio State.
“I was shaking quite a bit,” West said. “Being on the field for the first time didn’t feel real at all.”
After his first punt though, he settled in nicely, and found enough confidence to pull off the fake punt, a play most players wouldn’t dare execute on their own. West became a beacon of hope for Wisconsin fans and a crucial piece in the rest of Wisconsin’s season.
He punted three times in Wisconsin’s next game against Oregon, and a week later at home vs then-No. 21 Washington, etched his name further into the college football zeitgeist.
Trailing 10-3 in the third quarter, West completed his second fake punt. The playcall was planned this time, but West almost missed the call.
The Badgers thought they could exploit Washington’s punt coverage, calling a play that featured West pulling back on the punt and throwing a pass. But West wasn’t sure if he heard the playcall correctly and had to yell out to his upback Aaron Witt to double-check. At the last moment, Witt confirmed the fake.
West then found tight end Jackson Acker wide open in the middle of the field for a 24-yard first down completion. The play brought an energy to Camp Randall that would eventually carry Wisconsin to its first Big Ten victory of the year and first ranked win of the Fickell era.
On a snowy afternoon where running the ball took priority, West, with his 24 passing yards, finished the game as Wisconsin’s leading passer, drawing national attention.
Though West introduced himself with the stunning dash against Ohio State, and told the college football world he was sticking around with his play against Washington, it has been more than just his knack trickery that propelled him to Wisconsin's first punting option.
In his six games, West has been good for 47.7 yards per punt, 11th best in college football. He had 14 punts travel 50 or more yards.
“Sean has just shown us over and over again on a consistent basis that he’s got a really, really good leg,” Fickell said.
With fellow punter Atticus Bertrams entering the transfer portal, West appears to be heading into next season as Wisconsin’s starting punter. It’s another reminder of just how far West has come since his days as an athletic middle-schooler known for his leg.
West remembers looking out at the Camp Randall field a few years ago, telling his sisters how badly he wanted to play on it. Now, he’s in the position he envied, and while ecstatic about it, he’s not close to being satisfied.
“I want to be considered one of the greats, one of the best to come out of Badger football,” West said.
With his rapid journey from fan to foundational player, West’s story may evoke a sort of underdog tale. But his sheer talent, paired with unwavering commitment to his craft and the team he grew up dreaming of, point to a player whose rise was more steadfast than improbable.
