During a standout prep career, Jack Dunn frequently found the end zone. On Saturday afternoon in his fourth season at Wisconsin, the Madison Edgewood product and current Badgers wide receiver crossed the goal line for his first collegiate touchdown during a 48-0 win over Kent State.

From the accounts of Dunn and a certain Heisman Trophy candidate, the former called out the subsequent jet sweep. Then he received a little help from his friends in the running back room.

“Actually Jack Dunn brought it up to us so he spotted it out, so me and [Garrett] Groshek lobbied,” running back Jonathan Taylor said on Monday. “‘You might as well get it, if you feel as though it’s going to be open.’

“It was exciting how he scored a touchdown because you know the work that he puts in each and every single day of practice. He’s a tough, gritty player, so to see him get in the end zone, it was special. It was special.”

According to Dunn, he suggested the play to head coach Paul Chryst right after the end of the third quarter. Wisconsin had previously called a jet sweep on a 2nd-and-6 during the drive that sophomore wide receiver Aron Cruickshank ran for five yards to the Kent State 19-yard line.

“Right before that, we had called another jet [sweep] that me and ‘AC’ were kind of fighting over,” Dunn said. “I let him have it, so I came to the sideline. Coach Chryst kind of jokingly was like, ‘Why the heck didn’t you take it?’

“I was like, ‘Well why don’t you give me another one and see if I can get in the end zone?’ Luckily, he decided to call that play, and I had ‘Grosh’ and ‘JT’ lobbying for me a little bit.”

Taylor mentioned speaking with Chryst and offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Joe Rudolph. Dunn noted how Groshek -- a good friend -- was “just messing with me, saying ‘You got the call, now you got to get in.’”

Admittedly, there were some jitters for the 5-foot-7, 174-pound Madison native while waiting for play to resume and with a time-honored tradition on-going among the Camp Randall faithful.

“Then I had to stand around for a little bit while they were doing Jump Around, get all nervous about it, but I knew it was a good play,” Dunn said. “I knew I had a good chance to get in. All I had to do was get three yards or whatever.

“It was exciting. It’s been a while since I’ve been in the end zone so it felt good.”

How long had it been since Dunn crossed an end zone? As a senior at Edgewood -- a private school just a stone’s throw down Monroe Street (see: a mile) from Camp Randall Stadium -- he rushed for 1,861 yards with 25 touchdowns. He then walked on to the football program and redshirted his first season before playing in eight games during UW’s 13-1 campaign in 2017. Then the wide out assumed a larger role on the team last year as the lead punt returner, averaging 5.5 yards per attempt. However, he had not scored in those three previous seasons as a Badger.

So on the first play of the fourth quarter and Wisconsin knocking on the door of what could be its seventh touchdown on its seventh series of the afternoon, the offense came out in 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end) at the Golden Flashes’ three-yard line. Initially, Dunn started out on the right side of the field but sprinted to the left, taking the hand off from backup quarterback Graham Mertz.

Blocks from fellow wide receiver Adam Krumholz, fullback Mason Stokke and left tackle Tyler Beach helped Dunn cross the goal line -- as Taylor coined, “clean, untouched.”

Two days after the touchdown and dominant win, Dunn admitted his mind “just kind of went blank.”

“It’s like one of those moments that you’ve thought about for a while, always dreaming of getting in the end zone,” Dunn said. “That end zone specifically down by the student section, stuff like that. Before I was thinking, what am I going to do if I get in here? But once you get in, you’re just excited. You’re not really thinking about anything. You’re just trying to find your teammates and thank them for doing their jobs so you can get in the end zone. The offensive line has to block it up, Adam had a good block on the outside, so you just want to get with your teammates and celebrate with them.”

From there, the celebration was on. Krumholz got there first to Dunn, while Stokke lifted Dunn in the air while the other Badgers on the field swarmed him. Then he made his way back to the Wisconsin sideline where the congratulations continued to flow in.

“It was mostly just guys punching me and hitting me on the head, especially Tyler Biadasz,” Dunn said. “I started walking toward the sideline and I saw him waiting there, and I was like, ‘Oh shoot, I know he’s going to beat me up as soon as I get there.’

“I took a couple licks, but it’s alright. I think it’s worth it for getting in the end zone.”

As seen on the ESPNU broadcast, Biadasz definitely showed excitement when celebrating his teammates.

“Slap him on the back a little bit because he’s always the guy that runs to JT,” Biadasz said on Monday when asked exactly how he congratulated Dunn, a smile running across his face. “Because last year, he always came to whoever scored and just celebrated a lot with him, so it was our turn to give back. It was good.”

The reaction to the touchdown demonstrated the respect Dunn’s teammates have for him. Along with Taylor’s comments mentioned previously, Biadasz called out how the wide out “really grinds.”

“He goes out and does his job each and every day,” Biadasz said. “He’s a really hard worker, and we much appreciate him. For him to have a touchdown under his belt, too, and to celebrate with him, we like him. We like him a lot.”

Now in his redshirt junior season, Dunn has played in 26 career games heading into Saturday’s matchup against Michigan State (2:30 p.m. CT, BTN). His contributions continue this season on special teams and on offense, as he has increased his punt return average up to 9.2 yards per attempt on 19 tries through a handful of games in 2019.

“That’s a great example of a guy -- you talk about a fired up sideline, and it was ‘Grosh’ and ‘JT’ [that] called that one -- it tells ya, they appreciate what he does,” Chryst said on Saturday.

“I mean that. Doesn’t matter where they’re from. The way he approaches it, and what he does for this team, every guy was fired up about that one.”