Badgers lineman Dan Voltz elects to retire from football
MADISON, Wis. - It was a tough decision, but Wisconsin senior offensive lineman Dan Voltz announced after practice on Tuesday that he is retiring from football after trying to come back from an ACL injury that cost him the second half of last season.
The Badgers had planned on working Voltz gradually back in to the starting lineup at left guard after Voltz told the coaching staff during spring camp that sophomore Michael Deiter should take over his old spot at center.
But Voltz sat out the last few days of camp, and told media members after practice that he made his decision to move on from football recently.
"It's not something that happens instantly. For obvious reasons it's a hard decision to make. It's been three or four days of thinking," Voltz said Tuesday.
Voltz's retirement opens up a starting spot at left guard, and head coach Paul Chryst said that sophomore Micah Kapoi will get the first look at replacing Voltz, along with redshirt freshman Jon Dietzen. Both Kapoi and Dietzen split reps with the first team offense over the last few days, though, so it's likely that both players will see time there once the season gets underway.
But the key for Voltz this fall was to get his confidence back after his latest injury, and Voltz implied that he didn't want to put himself or his teammates in a bad spot by trying to keep playing if he wasn't 100 percent ready.
"Anytime you deal with an injury, you're going to lose a bit of confidence," Voltz said. "The key to that is to get the confidence back. Playing football while having those thoughts in your head is kind of dangerous. It's such a physical game- when you're not there mentally you're putting yourself in a bad position and putting your teammates in a bad position."
Voltz's retirement doesn't mean he won't be around the team any more, though. Voltz has already graduated and is working on his masters, and said that he has another year and a half of school left before he'll finish the program. During that time he'll continue to work with the program and will be on the sidelines for games- he just won't be able to help the team out on the field any longer.
"I feel like I have a lot to offer," Voltz said. "The way that football is played nowadays, the mental side of it is such a big part. Just having an extra set of eyes at practice, at games, I feel is a huge asset to the group. I feel like I can continue to help these guys grow."
And with an eye on life after football, Voltz said he didn't want to sacrifice his future quality of life for one more season in the trenches.
"When you're at the point where you start thinking about life after football, your long term health, that's when you kind of have to take a step back and say 'Is this the best decision for my body?'" Voltz said. "It's a selfish decision, and rightfully so, you have to make the best decision for yourself in the end when it comes to your physical health. That's something that sticks with you for the rest of your life."
"I'm 22 years old and I have a lot of life to live. I'm looking forward to just being healthy and having a productive life after football."
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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.