Written by BTN.com staffRead what BTN.com’s Tom Dienhart thinks of this decision, then tell us what you think. Would you have made the same call if you had been in his shoes? Tell us in the comment box at the end of this post. Ball was a consensus first-team All-American and finalist for the Heisman Trophy and tied Barry Sanders’ NCAA record by scoring 39 touchdowns this season. Here is his BTN.com stat page and his player page at UWBadgers.com. Remember his performance in the Big Ten Championship Game? There are more videos below in this post.
Shortly after that game he was named a Heisman Trophy finalist and wound up as an impressive fourth place finisher. He was also part of an amazing effort by Wisconsin’s Rose Bowl team, too.
Montee Ball: "I took the time to take in everyone's opinions … I listened to my heart and I will be returning for my senior season."—
Badger Football (@BadgerFootball) January 05, 2012
Ball’s 1,923 rushing yards led the country and were the seventh-best total in Big Ten history. Ball finished the season with 2,229 all-purpose yards, second-best in school history behind only Ron Dayne’s 2,242 yards in 1996. Look back at a few moments in Montee Ball’s magical season now with some memorable Ball videos:
And here are some tweets from Twitter:
Great stuff from @LucasAtLarge with @M_Ball28 on decision to stay with #Badgers ow.ly/8jEKD—
Wisconsin Athletics (@UWBadgersdotcom) January 05, 2012
It’s time for Montee Ball to take his talents to the National Football League. Without Russell Wilson and Paul Chryst, there is no point in staying. If Ball decides to return, he will get swallowed up by seven- and eight-man fronts all season long. His statistics will drop off greatly from what they were this season. I also doubt that Montee Ball would want to play on the seven- or eight-win team that Wisconsin will have next season anyway.