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BACK TO BASIC "It made me confident, strong and able to go out and get what I want. It made me reassess my life and what was valuable. It made me humble; I wouldn't be here today if I hadn't served." practiced in the spring and is currently prac- ticing with the team – there's more paperwork and compliance questions about his eligibility to compete. That's why he's not allowed to suit it up for games and is limited to practicing. "The story could change eventually," he said. "For now, I'm just happy to be on the scout team getting beat up every day and giving them (the No. 1 offense) good looks." The scout teamers simulate the opponent for the starters. During Tuesday's practice, an of- fensive assistant coach yelled at Russo for being over the wrong gap. He took it all in stride. Getting yelled at is part of the sacrifice and role-playing. "The best thing you can do in that case is to be coachable," Russo said. "That's honestly an ad- vantage that I have being 26 and having all the experience that I have. "You can tell me something and I can figure it out right away. For some of the younger guys, everything is happening really fast. I know what that's like. So just be coachable." It's all part of his education. At that, Russo is hoping to graduate in three semesters with a bachelor's degree in sociology. He would then like to pursue his master's in kinesiology. You can tell that he takes a lot of pride in the uniform – football or military. "More than you know," he said, smiling. "I have just as much pride for this as I have the military just because of what it means to me to be able to do what I'm doing. "I've shown that I have the wherewithal and physical and mental aptitude to hang with fu- ture NFL players. Not a lot of people can do that, so there's definitely a sense of pride for me. "Not being eligible to compete is the only downfall to what's happened here. I've learned so much physically and mentally; I've learned how to play a sport that I love at a high level. "The coaching staff has been amazing to me. They've embraced me. They made it clear that they want me around and I can't thank them enough." His Badger teammates have been good to him, too. "They call me Grandpa Russo sometimes," he said, smiling again. "That's OK. I actually em- brace it. I know these guys need help with men- tal things sometimes when they get down on themselves. "And I'll just give them a little smack and tell them, 'Snap out of it. You're here with us now.' Don't let the last play affect the next play type of thing. "I was a sergeant in charge of young men com- ing out of basic training. It's a different land- scape, but the same exact leadership principles: honor, integrity, all that stuff applies here too." What will be going through Greg Russo's mind on Sunday; the 10-year anniversary of 9/11? Just what you might think. He will have com- passion for those who lost family and friends. "I think about them," he said. "I keep them in mind." He's been thinking about them all week. "And it keeps me humble, absolutely. Every day, it keeps me humble."