W
isconsin offensive tackle Rick Wag- ner gets an acute case of "tunnel vision''
whenever the preseason All-American thinks about playing
games in Camp Randall Stadium. This is about a heightened concentration, not a narrow-mindedness. This is about visualizing run- ning out of that tunnel at the north end of the sta- dium before the opening kickoff. "I still get shivers,'' said Wagner, a fifth-year se-
nior from West Allis, Wis. "Looking around and seeing all that red, it's crazy. I'm just trying not to trip when I'm coming down the tunnel.'' Unlike many teammates who listen to head- banging music in the locker room to get "pumped'' for an opponent, Wagner has taken a different ap- proach to his pregame routine for home games.
28 » VARSITY AUGUST 23, 2012
"I like to relax, no pump-up,'' he said. "If I blow
it all in the locker room, I'm not going to have any- thing left for the game. Running out of the tunnel gets me pumped enough.'' That's the way it has been for Wagner since his freshman season and the 2008 opener against Ak- ron at Camp Randall. Wagner was a walk-on, red- shirting and 60 pounds lighter than he is today. There was one other thing different about him back then — he was listed as a tight end. "It was pretty quick; a short-lived experience,'' he said, grinning, The Badgers went into the '08 season well- stocked at H-Back (Travis Beckum and Lance Ken- dricks) and tight end (Garrett Graham and Mickey Turner). That's some fast company. At another level, a very inexperienced one, Wag-
