Life as a professional football player can bring many changes. Changing coaches, adapting to new schemes, even finding out -- abruptly at times -- that you will need to update your address and become part of another NFL team.

Within the past year, another development and set of life events have consumed the time and energy of four former Wisconsin standouts.

That would include changing diapers.

“He’s a rockstar, actually,” Kelsi Erickson, wife of former Wisconsin wide receiver Alex Erickson, said on June 14. “There’s only been one time when he called me when I was in the shower, saying, ‘You have to come change the diaper because I think I’m going to puke.' ”

On Sunday, Erickson, Vince Biegel, Derek Watt and Kevin Zeitler will celebrate their first Father’s Day, and BadgerBlitz.com spoke with all four former Badgers and their wives in recent weeks. In the past year, they have navigated and adjusted to not just balancing a new wrinkle in their work-life “scheme” with an addition to their personal “team,” but for a few, they encountered changing coaching staffs and surprising career moves with different franchises.

Watt and his wife, Gabriella, woke up on Sunday, Feb. 17 of 2018, one year to the day of their anniversary. Two days later, a planned C-section was set to take place, but her water broke. Getting to the hospital at 6:30 a.m., Logan James Watt arrived about 2.5 hours later at nine pounds, 13 ounces, his middle name coming from Derek’s late grandfather.

Bringing a newborn home can be a harrowing adventure for many new parents. Significantly altered sleep schedules, feeding every few hours, diapers to change, and more responsibilities add a new element to the family dynamic. As Watt described it, Logan “is the center of our lives” and is the main focus when they’re at home.

Then try to combine that into the schedule of an NFL player with workouts, meetings, minicamps, organized team activities (OTAs) and the subsequent approaching season.

“Professionally, there are times when I’m waking up in the middle of the night with him, making him a bottle, doing stuff like changing him and things like that,” Watt said. “Not as much anymore, but earlier in the off-season doing our workouts and stuff. You get up in the middle of the night, so you’re going to be a little bit more tired in the morning or at work. You’re going to feel the effects of that the next day. You got to do some of your studying and kind of prioritize that and plan around when my wife’s watching him, I'll do some of that stuff.”

There’s not just teamwork on the field, but also in the household, something all the couples noted.

“Teamwork-wise, waking up in the middle of the night, during the work week, I’m the one that gets up,” Gabriella said, “But Derek will actually get up, go make the bottle for me and bring it so he’s still getting up but he gets to go back to sleep. On the weekend, he lets me go get the bottle, that way I can sleep and he’ll take Logan into his room and feed him there.”

There have also been plenty of updates to his mobile phone’s photo gallery.

“I have an insane amount of pictures and videos on my phone because he’s so dang cute, so dang handsome,” Watt said.

Watt enters his fourth season with the Chargers organization with offensive coordinator Ken Wisenhunt returning for another year. Erickson, however, will have to adjust to a new offense. The Cincinnati Bengals fired head coach Marvin Lewis on Dec. 31, 2018 after leading the organization for 16 seasons.

Enter new head coach Zac Taylor from the Los Angeles Rams, and Erickson needs to master a new offense while also juggling quality time with the family.

“These past nine weeks we were down here, 10 weeks, a big focus has been learning the playbook, and getting comfortable with the new scheme,” Erickson said. “Just get to know the new coaches and just get that familiarity with them.”

Less than a month after the Watts welcomed Logan to the world, Alex and Kelsi met Owen for the first time on March 13. The former Wisconsin walk-on described it as “surreal” and an emotionally unforgettable moment.

“You just starting crying,” Erickson said. “You’re just so happy and it’s just crazy that we created a little baby boy. It’s so special and truly just a blessing.”

Kelsi noted Alex’s schedule of leaving at 7 a.m. and not returning home until 3 or 4 p.m., yet he prioritizes his time when at home, “and the first thing he does is he picks up Owen and he spends some time with him before he gets fussy.”

When Owen sleeps is when Erickson digs into the extra work of continuing to learn the offense.

“When he takes a nap, I get in the playbook and find time to study around his schedule and stuff like that,” Erickson said. “Just balancing it out, finding a healthy balance of work and spending time with your family - just not wanting to miss any of the milestone moments and just be there as much as I can, obviously.”

As a member of the Green Bay Packers in August 2018, Biegel received good news after the second preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sarah Biegel surprised Vince with a No. 45 jersey with the word “Daddy” at the top.

Flash forward months later on April 24, 2019, Willow June was born in Louisiana, and Papa Biegel is now a member of the New Orleans Saints.

The former Wisconsin linebacker faced a difficult decision before the start of the 2018 season, as after being drafted by his home-state franchise in 2017, he learned the Packers would cut him.

“When I got cut by Green Bay, it really put a lot of pressure on me because, ‘Oh crap, my wife’s pregnant.’ I was jobless for less than 24 hours, but you’re jobless,” Biegel said. “You’re like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ It truly puts things in perspective. You’re just not playing this game for yourself anymore. You’re playing it for your family.”

As Jason Wilde previously reported in the Wisconsin State Journal from an ESPN Wisconsin interview last October, Biegel received practice squad options from both the Packers and the Saints. The linebacker recalled the NFC South franchise was deep at his position but they offered “a great opportunity.”

Biegel felt New Orleans valued him more than Green Bay, and he also told BadgerBlitz.com that the former's offer in pay was double the the latter was willing to give him. He remembers it being a tough choice, but looking back on it, he feels it was the best decision.

“Leaving a place where I grew up, I played college football, I got drafted, that was a tough decision to leave and not to mention, our families are both from the area,” Biegel said. “My wife is from Wisconsin and she’s pregnant at the time, so there’s a lot of different variables. I put all that aside and I had to make the best business decision, and that best business decision was to go to play for the Saints.”

He admitted the move to New Orleans was tough initially in transition back to a 4-3 scheme from a 3-4 and adjusting to the playbook. Sarah still lived in Green Bay for the first three weeks until he found an apartment.

The Biegels leaned on each other and their faith, and all has worked out so far. The Saints called Vince up to the active roster, and he played in 14 regular season games last season primarily on special teams as the franchise reached the NFC Championship game.

Besides being a key contributor on special teams, he is excited to dive deep into the defensive playbook and find a way to contribute on that unit this season. When he first came to UW in 2012, he played the “SAM” (strong side) linebacker position behind Ethan Armstrong before UW converted to a 3-4 defense a year later with the arrival of Gary Andersen and Dave Aranda.

Coming full circle, he now is back at that ‘SAM’ position in New Orleans’ 4-3 scheme while also playing rush end on third down situations and continuing special teams work.

He believes these recent lessons taught him how to be a professional.

“I grew a ton not just football-wise, but I grew a ton as a person as well,” Biegel said. “I know that everything truly happens for a reason, and I think these experiences are going to make me into a better football player for years to come. This type of adversity and the different changes, not just on the field, too, but also help me a better husband, help me be a better father.”

Both born and raised in the Badger State, Sarah noted how they have made the best of what was a difficult situation in new surroundings.

“We lived in Wisconsin our entire lives,” Sarah Biegel said, “so to be in a new place I think for us is really fun just as a couple to get to know each other more and just to go out and explore different parts of the country and get a different perspective.”

Like Biegel, Zeitler has changed teams within the past year. Unlike the former Badger ‘backer, the latter initially found out through social media.

“When I was at NX Level and I was halfway through a workout, and for the first time in my life I checked my phone midway through workouts. I saw a million Instagram comments saying, ‘Good luck in New York,’ Zeitler said. “That’s how I found out.

“Then I scrolled down and I saw a bunch of missed calls from [Cleveland Browns general manager] John Dorsey. I just pulled myself out of the workout, and called Dorsey and all that.”

On March 8, those reports started circulating about a trade, and Zeiter said his wife, Sara, heard about the news from a Cincinnati reporter who texted her before it was announced. Five days later, the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants officially announced a deal sending Zeitler, defensive back Jabrill Peppers, and 2019 first-round and third-round draft picks to New York in exchange for wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. and defensive lineman Olivier Vernon heading to the AFC North organization.

Though shocked, the immediate focus went to finding a place to live for their young family which included their daughter, Kaleia, who’s now over nine months old and was born at 3:04 a.m. on Sept. 1.

Now heading to the mid-Atlantic, Sara started facilitating movers, contacting their realtor to get their house in Cleveland on the market while reaching out to their financial advisor to find a realtor for a new home.

According to Zeitler, their thought process for moving was straightforward as they have done in the past in locking down a place to live, but now they also accounted for Kaleia during air travel and temporarily living in apartment life. Through it all, Sara noted Kevin as “very work focused.”

“He’s always all about business so he was just like, ‘I’m really excited for a new opportunity. I can’t wait to get out there and learn the playbook, meet my right tackle, meet my coaches, meet the strength coach, learn about their program,’ ” Sara said. “That’s just always been who he is.”

Zeitler likes what he sees so far from Giants and their approach. For Kaleia, it seems like she’s adjusted pretty well.

“For everything she’s gone through, having the sudden change of scenery from Cleveland to here, dealing with the move and having to fly on a plane, she’s doing real good,” Zeitler said. “She’s happy, she’s healthy, she’s moving all around now. She’s a real joy to have around.”

With the new bundle of joys each respective family has, a new nuclear “team” forms. Teamwork between wife and husband is key, and all four Badgers praised their wives in the transition to parenthood and the various ways of accommodating what accompanies the daily grind of football schedules.

Support from friends and family also came into play for these Badgers, though for the Watts, uncles J.J. and T.J. Watt, may not have helped with the diapers.

"They did all the good stuff, and that’s what they say. They're like, 'We’ll take him when he’s being cute. Then when he needs some attention to handle the dirty work, that’s what you guys are for,' so they would hand him right back," Watt said. "They would sense that he would need a changed diaper or he would go to bathroom while they were holding him, and they’d be like, ‘Alright, here you go.’

"They'll get better. They'll work into it."

Quality time with family is paramount. Zeitler works to finish up as much as he can at the Giants’ facility before returning home.

“Especially now, he’s really great about dedicating time to us as a family,” Sara said, “and making sure he gets all of his work done before he gets home so that he can focus on that and be with us when he’s here.”

Though professionally he knows he has to provide for Kelsi and Owen, Erickson believes it has not changed his approach from working to become the best player he can be and hold a long career. While learning a new virtue in parental patience, he also noticed a change when he arrived at home.

“Personally, I think it’s easier to just let things go from work and stuff,” Erickson said. “When I get home, I just want to spend time with Owen and my wife. Just see him and hang out with him just because there’s so much going on that every day is kind of different the way he’s developing and how fast everything changes right now being three months old.”

Gabriella Watt called Derek a "natural" at being a parent and believes his “amazing qualities just kind have been kicked up a notch."

“He doesn’t get frustrated, he’s so patient with Logan. He loves to play with him,” Gabriella said. “Logan, I’m with him more often during the day while Derek’s at work, but when Derek gets home, Logan can’t stop staring at him and can’t wait until Derek can hold him.”

As their lives have changed significantly in recent months, perspective has as well. As Vince rolled into the first practice of OTAs, he received a text from Sarah with a picture of she and Willow saying, “We love you, Dad.”

“It’s little texts like that that make everything worth it, and it truly puts things into perspective,” Biegel said. “I’ll always love the game of football, but my family comes first.

“That's kind of one thing, too. It’s tough because with the NFL, it’s such a demanding profession. You always got to take the phone calls, you always got to be there, so it puts a lot of extra pressure on your wife. During OTAs here, Sarah’s been taking all the night shifts because she wants to make sure I get rest. It’s the little things like that, too, that makes me really almost love my wife more because the sacrifice she’s making as well.”

While talking over the phone, Sarah Biegel watched her husband bouncing Willow on a ball.

“He just knows what to do,” Sarah Biegel said, noting Vince’s experience with their three nieces. “It’s funny watching him hold her because she’s so small.”

A distant noise erupts from her end of the conversation.

“Sorry, she just burped,” Sarah said with a laugh. “She’s so small and in his arms it looks like a little football that he’s holding. It’s been really sweet to watch him interact with her.”