Offensive linemen Rob Havenstein and David Edwards came to the University of Wisconsin as an overweight prospect and a high school quarterback, respectfully. On Sunday, the duo reached the pinnacle for a professional football athlete.
By virtue of Los Angeles’ 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI, played in the Rams’ home stadium, Havenstein and Edwards became the 20th and 21st former Badgers athlete to be crowned a Super Bowl champion.
The duo never played together on Wisconsin’s offensive line but have been anchors for the Rams over their tenure with Havenstein at right tackle and Edwards at left guard.
Havenstein was a second-round pick by the Rams in 2015 and has started 99 regular-season games during his seven seasons. He started 42 games and played in 54 from 2011-14 for the Badgers. He was a part of an offensive line that led way for two of the three best single-season rushing performances in school history at 283.8 yards per game in 2013 and a school-record 320.1 yards per game in 2014, the latter a season in which he was a consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection and a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association.
Edwards was a tight end during his redshirt season in 2015 before moving to tackle in preseason camp in 2016. He started 31 games at Wisconsin (2016-18), earning first-team All-American honors from the AFCA in 2017 and first-team all-conference honors from the media in 2018, before declaring for the draft after his junior season. A 2019 fifth-round pick for the Rams, Edwards has started 41 games since his rookie season, mostly playing left guard.
Winning the NFC West this season with a 12-5 record, the Rams bested division rival Arizona, 34-11, in the opening round, knocked out defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay, 30-27, on the road, and broke a six-game losing streak to San Francisco – another divisional opponent - by beating the 49ers, 20-17, in the NFC Championship game.
On Sunday, the Rams came back again, capping a 15-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass with 1:25 remaining that proved to be the game winner.
At least one former UW player has appeared in 36 of the 56 Super Bowls, and eight of the last nine Super Bowls have included one former Badger hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
The triumph of two former offensive linemen caps an impressive season for former Wisconsin athletes.
Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt was the runaway winner of the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award. Despite missing two games because of injuries, Watt tied the NFL single-season record for sacks (22½) and validated the Steelers making him the highest-paid defensive player in the league.
“To be able to be recognized as the best defensive player in the year is definitely something that I strive to be,” Watt said after receiving the award from older brother, J.J. “I'm not huge on individual goals, but it's tough for me not to want that when I saw my brother at the height of his career win the award three times. And I always just thought to myself, why can't I do that?
“I'm just so motivated. I'm very honored to receive this award and to be voted when there's so many successful and great players in the National Football League. And I don't think it's fully hit me quite yet.”
Indianapolis tailback Jonathan Taylor was the runner-up for the league’s offensive player of the year after leading the NFL in rushing yards (1,811), rushing touchdowns (18), yards from scrimmage (2,171), all-purpose yards (2,171), and total touchdowns (20).
Taylor and Watt were two of 27 former Badgers who played in the NFL last season, including 20 who started at least one game. Edwards and Taylor were two of four former UW players to start every game for their team this season, joining center Tyler Biadasz (Dallas Cowboys) and guard Kevin Zeitler (Baltimore Ravens).
Eight different Badgers scored touchdowns this season: WR Quintez Cephus (Detroit Lions), RB Corey Clement (Dallas Cowboys), RB Melvin Gordon (Denver Broncos), FB Alec Ingold (Las Vegas Raiders), RB Dare Ogunbowale (Jacksonville Jaguars), Taylor, RB James White (New England Patriots), and QB Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks).
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @JakeKoco, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45
*Like us on Facebook
