MADISON, Wis. - Safety Hunter Wohler walked up to reporters with a look of exhaustion and disgust.
Wisconsin was just embarrassed by Northwestern, 24-10, for its third straight loss and sat with a 5-5 record. But there were obviously deeper issues. The team looked sluggish, sloppy and uninspired.
"We’ve hit rock bottom right now, and when you hit rock bottom, you take a long hard look at yourself," Wohler said at the time.
"There might be some weeding out that we need to do. Because right now, the things that we have going on, it’s not what Wisconsin football is, it’s not what Wisconsin football represents.”
Wohler unleashed a 10-minute rant, bemoaning what he saw as a collective lack of effort and commitment. The decision to call out his teammates publicly was met with some controversy amongst fans online, but anybody who watched the Northwestern game knew Wohler’s rant was ultimately justified.
“The locker room is very tight. We’ve got a lot of guys that really love being together, love being around each other. But there comes a point where someone has to speak up and be the asshole," Wohler said. "Someone has to tell people to stop screwing around and stop going through the motions and play. Otherwise, get out. We don’t need people here that aren’t gonna give their hearts for this team."
That moment felt more telling of Wohler’s true character than any other interview or interaction.
The Badgers have great players every season, but few in their history would be willing to go out of their way to speak their mind when the situation called for it.
“Experience of being a good player doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a good leader. Sometimes we fall into that trap of assuming that. But in Hunter’s case, he absolutely is. He walks it, he talks it, the guys respect him that way,” safeties coach Alex Grinch said of Wohler on Tuesday.
“How do you define what the standard is? It’s your expectations minus the things that you tolerate. So, we can say whatever we want from a performance standpoint, but ultimately what do we tolerate? And it’s one thing for a coach to say it, but it’s another for a guy like Hunter. He doesn’t tolerate a whole lot.”
Wohler not only one of the best players on the team, but with another strong season he could cement himself as one of the great Badgers in recent history.
In 2023, his 74 solo tackles were the most for a Badger since 2001 and his 120 total tackles were the most for a Badger since 2012. He also earned first team all-Big Ten honors.
“Here’s a dude who, A, understands ball and absolutely loves it, B, when your best players are your leaders, that’s much more impactful, C, [football is] very, very, very important to him and that rubs off big time, too. He’s a guy that can come off the field and communicate what he’s seeing, that’s really important as well. He can help everybody on the defense digest any adjustments you’re trying to make,” defensive coordinator Mike Tressel said during local media day.
Wohler is an elite player who managed to get trapped in the middle of an unprecedented program shift. He arrived during the last gasp of the Paul Chryst era, then finally broke out in a rocky transition year where the team around him was being held together by Scotch tape.
Wohler’s decision to return for another season was heavily inspired by the lack of team success he has experienced as a Badger.
“I got here in ‘21, and we weren’t great. We had three mediocre seasons and it wasn’t what I watched growing up, and [wasn’t] the Wisconsin that I came here for,” Wohler said during the local media day.
Wohler and other leaders have expressed optimism about the morale of this year’s team compared to last, although they’ve yet to face any real challenges.
It will be something to monitor throughout the season. If the problems continue, perhaps he’ll let us know.
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