W
isconsin safety Dez Southward
stood in front of his locker stall
Tuesday night and removed his
No. 12 jersey from his shoulder
pads for the final time this season. Packing up is hard to do ― so is breaking up ―
and the combination of underclassmen commiserating with seniors and departing assistant coaches
made for an emotional dynamic following a 20-14
loss to Stanford in the Rose Bowl.
Southward is from Sunrise, Fla., and the sun did
rise Wednesday morning.
"You don't like to leave a game like this without a
30 » VARSITY
JANUA RY 3, 2013
win,'' said Southward, one of the returning starters
in a sizeable and skilled junior class. "But it's definitely an exciting time. We have a ton of guys coming back and a ton of guys who you haven't seen yet
who are going to be good players. I'm excited for
next year and I'm excited about being a leader of
this defense and this team.''
Unlike his senior teammates in the secondary ―
Devin Smith, Marcus Cromartie and Shelton Johnson ― Southward will get another opportunity next
season to chase that elusive happy ending. In each
of the last three Rose Bowls, the Badgers have competed to the very end, only to fall a few plays and
