HE BELIEVER
By embracing change, Cory Raymer became one of the best ever at his position and helped jump-start the re-birth of Badger football
BY MIKE LUCAS • UWBADGERS.COM W
hen Cory Raymer left Fond du Lac, Wis., and ar- rived on the UW campus as a freshman, the thought never crossed his mind that he would leave Madi- son four years later as a consensus All-America center. There was a very good reason for that, too. "I had never played center in my life,'' he said with a hearty laugh. Raymer was originally projected as a defensive lineman coming out of Goodrich High School. "All of a sudden, the first day of training camp, I got introduced to
Bill Callahan,'' he said of the former offensive line assistant under head coach Barry Alvarez. "He came up to me and says, 'We're going to try you at center.' And I was miserable. What the hell am I doing at center?'' Good question. But he came up with the right answer. Or, rather, they did. By putting his faith and trust in Callahan and Alvarez, and by learn-
ing the nuances of the position, Raymer started his last four games as a freshman and developed into the most decorated center in school history. In 1994, he was named a first-team All-American by seven different national publications. "I don't know what they (Callahan and Alvarez) saw in me, but it
was a stepping stone to my career in the NFL,'' said Raymer, a second- round draft pick of the Washington Redskins in 1995 who went on to survive 11 seasons with the Redskins (two tours of duty) and the San
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