A Healthy Jon Dietzen Feels Strong Heading Into Final Stretch

MADISON, Wis. - Senior guard Jon Dietzen walked away from football in February 2019 due to numerous injuries, apparently calling it a career after 35 games and 32 starts at two different positions. So, when news got out that he was going to try and make a comeback after sitting out last season, that main concern would be how his body would hold up.

Thanks in part to a schedule that hasn’t had UW play more than two weeks in a row, Dietzen said he’s feeling good from a physical standpoint.

“I haven’t gotten nearly as many games as I expected to,” Dietzen said. “It’s been holding up and still going full go and still feeling good.”

Dietzen’s versatility has been valuable. Starting the season at right guard, Dietzen moved over to left guard over the last three games because of an injury to Josh Seltzner. According to Pro Football Focus, Dietzen grades out as UW’s second-best linemen this season, trailing only former platoon-mate Cole Van Lanen.

One of only two seniors on the unit, Dietzen has seen firsthand the youth movement No.25 Wisconsin (2-2) has gone with this season as it has dealt with stoppage in plays and injuries. Entering this weekend’s game at Iowa (5-2), one sophomore and three freshmen make up the second-string line.

“I think he’s played at a really high level,” offensive coordinator/line coach Joe Rudolph said of Dietzen. “You talk about rootin’ and being excited for someone. He loves the game. He loves Wisconsin. I think he got to the point where he was so disappointed that he wasn’t able to play at a level where he thought he was helping, which he was. I think that culminated with the pain he was going through really set him in a I’ve done all I could and maybe this is the next step I need to make.

“To feel good again, come back and appreciate what he’s doing is pretty cool.”

A healthy Dietzen is important for Wisconsin against a Hawkeyes defensive line that is likely the best unit the Badgers have faced to this point. Iowa’s defensive front that ranks second in the Big Ten in sacks (20.0) and tackles for loss (46.0), and defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon leads the Big Ten with 5.5 sacks and 13.0 tackles for loss. He’s not alone, either, as defensive ends Zach VanValkenburg (8.5 TFLs, 3.5 sacks) and Chauncey Golston (7.5 TFLs, 4.5 sacks) are active and physical.

Iowa ranks No.3 in the conference in scoring defense (17.3), rush defense (115.0) and total defense (326.4), having gone 21 straight games without surrendering 25 points, the longest streak in the nation among Power 5 teams.

“I think they are playing well,” head coach Paul Chryst said of Iowa's front. “Disruptive is an accurate term. In our opinion, probably the best front we’ve seen. Good combination of strength and power and production. That’s what jumps out at you.”

For Dietzen, it’s the kind of game he came back to play in.

“They are a team that prides themselves on the same things that we do," Dietzen said. "Having kind of similar identities makes it more of an interesting battle for the win. Who plays this type of ball better? Who plays that typical physical, smash-mouth football better? That’s always been an exciting game for me, one of my favorite trophy games that we play.”