Now that the NFL season has wrapped up, football fans can turn their attention squarely to the 2012 NFL Draft, which is a little more than two months away. One of the biggest events on the "Path to the Draft" in the NFL scouting combine, which opens this week in Indianapolis.

***Follow all the former Badgers at UWBadgers.com's 2012 NFL Scouting Combine page***

This year a school-record eight former Badgers were invited to the combine, the second-highest total of any school in the country. The players invited were:

* FB Bradie Ewing
* CB Antonio Fenelus
* C Peter Konz
* P Brad Nortman
* OL Josh Oglesby
* WR Nick Toon
* QB Russell Wilson
* OL Kevin Zeitler

Last year, DE J.J. Watt wowed the scouts with his performance at the combine, working himself up to the No. 11 pick in the draft. QB Scott Tolzien also helped himself, making a good impression during drills and as a "throwing" quarterback while the other skill position players worked out, eventually landing a free agent deal and spending the season with the San Francisco 49ers.

Once again, NFL Network will have extensive coverage of the combine from Lucas Oil Stadium. Perhaps the Badgers will benefit from their familiarity with the field, having beaten Michigan State, 42-39, in the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship game on Dec. 3 in that venue.

The complete combine schedule is below, along with the NFL Network's coverage.

PLAYERS' SCHEDULES
Groups 1, 2, 3 (K, ST, OL, TE)
Badgers: Konz, Nortman, Zeitler, Oglesby
Feb. 22        Arrive in Indy/Registration/Orientation/Interviews
Feb. 23        Measurements/Medical Examinations/Media/Psychological testing/Interviews
Feb. 24        NFLPA meeting/Psychological testing/Interviews
Feb. 25        Workouts

Groups 4, 5, 6 (QB, WR, RB)
Badgers: Ewing, Toon, Wilson
Feb. 23        Arrive in Indy/Registration/Orientation/Interviews
Feb. 24        Measurements/Medical Examinations/Media/Psychological testing/Interviews
Feb. 25        NFLPA meeting/Psychological testing/Interviews
Feb. 26        Workouts

Groups 10, 11 (DB)
Badgers: Fenelus
Feb. 25        Arrive in Indy/Registration/Orientation/Interviews
Feb. 26        Measurements/Medical Examinations/Media/Psychological testing/Interviews
Feb. 27        NFLPA meeting/Psychological testing/Interviews
Feb. 28        Workouts

NFL NETWORK SCHEDULE
Feb. 25        8 a.m.-6 p.m.    K, OL, TE workouts
Feb. 26        8 a.m.-6 p.m.    RB, QB, WR workouts
Feb. 27        8 a.m.-6 p.m.    LB, DL workouts
Feb. 28        8 a.m.-6 p.m.    DB workouts
Feb. 29        7 p.m.              NFL Scouting Combine Wrap-up Show

In today's blog entry, head coach Yvette Healy writes about opening weekend and the team's focus.

It was great to kick-off the 2012 softball season in Tampa, Fla. The University of South Florida hosted a nice tournament with Arkansas, Drake and Georgia Southern. I'm proud of our team for winning our opening game, and coming home 2-2.

Whitney Massey led the offense, getting on base and driving in runs. Redshirt sophomore Molly Spence provided a few sparks, driving in runs in three separate games. Our pitchers were impressive; averaging only five hits a game while keeping us in every contest. Junior Meghan McIntosh and sophomore Cassandra Darrah each earned their first wins of the season. Defensively, Shannel Blackshear and Stephanie Peace did a nice job holding down the left side of the infield their first weekend on the dirt.

We have a short turnaround this week, returning to Florida to face Maryland, Florida State, Southern Illinois and St. John's in Orlando Feb. 24-26. Maryland and Florida State are both ranked in the top 30 right now, which is exciting.

Our focus last weekend was pulling activities from the book, "10-Minute Toughness" by Jason Selk. We had our team create "Identity Statements" to help them decide who they want to be and how they want to live. Dr. Maxwell Maltz's "Psycho Cybernetics" argues that you will act like the sort of person you conceive yourself to be. I think this positive self-talk exercise helped our athletes stay composed and confident.  

***Vote for the All-Bielema Team on Facebook***

Day two of voting for the All-Bielema team was very similar to day one, with the most recent candidate running away with the popular vote. On both Facebook and Twitter, 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist Montee Ball easily outdistanced 2009 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year John Clay and 2006 national Freshman of the Year P.J. Hill.

Wednesday the spotlight shifts to the less-heralded half of the Badgers' running back tandem, the fullback. As one of the few teams left in college football that regularly employs a fullback, Wisconsin has produced some pretty good ones in recent years.

The Fullback Candidates:

Bradie Ewing (2008-11)
2011 UW Special Teams Player of the Year ... invited to the 2012 Senior Bowl and 2012 NFL Scouting Combine ... 2010 Tom Wiesner Award winner, given to the team's top Wisconsin-born player ... three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection ... caught 20 passes for 246 yards as a senior ... 504 career all-purpose yards and four career TDs ... started on all four special teams units and made 17 career tackles




Chris Pressley (2004-08)
Currently on the Cincinnati Bengals roster ... has played in 29 games in the NFL the last three seasons, starting 13 of them ... started 21 games at FB in his career as a Badger, including 18 in 2007-08 ... two-time Academic All-Big Ten and winner of UW's Ivan B. Williamson Scholastic Award ... 25 career carries for 103 yards and a touchdown ... also caught two passes for eight yards and a TD



Bill Rentmeester (2005-08)
Appeared in 47 career games, including 39 from 2006-08 ... named UW's special teams player of the year as a senior ... famous for "Billy on the belly" play at Fresno State in 2008 when he ran for eight yards and a first down deep in Wisconsin territory that helped UW run out the clock to end the game ... carried the ball 26 times in his career for 116 yards and one touchdown ... also caught four passes for 21 yards and a score




Remember to vote early and often for the All-Bielema team either on Facebook or Twitter using #AllBielemaTeam (follow @BadgerFootball).

While it is unlikely anyone associated with the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team will say it out loud, the Badgers appear to be in pretty decent shape for a 14th-consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament.

Only Kansas, Duke and Michigan State have longer streaks. Meanwhile Texas, which like the Badgers has gone dancing for the last 13 years, would seem to have some work to do.

To be sure, the Longhorns could still make it, but they begin the week with a 7-8 conference record, and a ratings percentage index (RPI) of 59, according to CollegeRPI.com.

A couple of other traditional powers will need to win their conference tournaments to make the field. Pittsburgh is last in the Big East with a 4-11 record, while its RPI is 93. UCLA is 8-6 in the Pac-12, but has an RPI of 136.

In other words, dropping games to the Panthers and the Bruins, especially the latter, would be considered a bad loss. Imagine that.

The RPI is just one of several tools for the NCAA tournament selection committee, but clearly those numbers help demonstrate that Texas, Pitt and UCLA have had their struggles.

Meanwhile, the Badgers simply continue to win. On Sunday, Bo Ryan's bunch won its 20th game of year. That is six straight seasons of at least 20 victories, and the ninth in 11 years under Ryan. In the history of the program, the UW has 13 such seasons.

Perhaps even more telling is the fact that the Badgers can still finish in the top four of the Big Ten standings.

They would like to believe they can end up even higher, but for now, Wisconsin is a game-and-a-half ahead of fifth-place Indiana. If the Badgers hold on to that position, it would be the 11th-straight season of a fourth-place or better finish in the league.

Now that is impressive.  

Perhaps even more so this season. Yes, this team really struggles to score, but far more often than not, they defend. They protect the basketball. And they make free throws, especially late in games.

To this point of the season, that combination has helped the Badgers to the Big Ten's best road record.

With trips coming up to Iowa City and Columbus, that combo needs to be in play again.

Much has been made of Wisconsin's home record under Ryan, and much has been made of the Badgers' four Kohl Center losses this season. Understandable, but what many folks have missed is the success away from home.

Since Ryan became the head coach in Madison, no team in the Big Ten has been better outside of its own gym than the Badgers.

During that period, Wisconsin's 47 conference road wins is tied with Ohio State for the most in the league. Michigan State is next in line with 43.

The Badgers are not picky. They win here. They win there (stolen from Charlie Sheen).

Without a doubt, the Badgers would love to average more than the 60 points per game they manage in league play. But, if they score 52 and the opponent has 51, they will take it.

Especially at this stage of the season, when absolutely nothing is easy.

Against Penn State, the shots started to fall more frequently. Hopefully that is a sign of things to come.

However, if the offense starts scuffling again, the Badgers still can have a fighting chance, as long as the defense remains solid, they secure the basketball and they knock down pressure free throws.

That might end up being Wisconsin's winning recipe.

***Vote for the All-Bielema Team on Facebook***

Day one of voting for the All-Bielema Team is in the books and it looks like we have our quarterback. To the surprise of very few, unless there is a huge groundswell of support for either Scott Tolzien or John Stocco over the next three weeks, Russell Wilson will be under center when the team is revealed on March 15.

No one can argue that Wilson had a tremendous impact on the Badgers in his one season. He set an NCAA record for pass efficiency, set school records for passing yards, completions, passing TDs and total offense and led UW to the Rose Bowl. He was a consensus first-team All-Big Ten choice and won the league's inaugural Griese-Brees QB of the Year Award.

However, his competitors were no slouches either. In his only season under head coach Bret Bielema, Stocco led Wisconsin to its only 12-win season in school history. That year he was a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award. While not in the Bielema era, he held the single-season school records for passing yards, completions and passing TDs until Wilson smashed them this year. And for his career, he led the Badgers to a 29-7 record (second-most wins in school history) and ranks second at UW in passing yards, attempts, completions and passing TDs.

Before Wilson's amazing season, Tolzien probably would have been the runaway winner. He led the Badgers to a 21-5 record in his two years as a starter, including an appearance in the 2011 Rose Bowl. He owns the best career pass efficiency mark in school history, two of the top five passing yardage seasons in school history and nearly set a Big Ten record with a .729 completion percentage in 2010. As a senior, he won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, becoming the only UW quarterback to win a major national award in school history.

Today, we move on to the running backs, perhaps the deepest position of the Bielema era. All three candidates rank among the top 10 in school history in career rushing yardage. Combined they have accounted for six 1,000-yard rushing seasons. And they each scored more than 40 TDs in their career (one almost did it in a single season).

The Running Back Candidates:

Montee Ball (2009-present)
2011 Heisman Trophy finalist ... 2011 Doak Walker Award finalist ... 2011 Chicago Tribune Silver Football winner ... 2011 Graham-George Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year ... 2011 Ameche-Dayne Big Ten RB of the Year ... 2011 consensus first-team All-American ... scored 39 TDs in 2011, tying the NCAA record held by Barry Sanders ... led the NCAA with 1,923 rushing yards in 2011 ... career totals of 3,310 rushing yards (9th in school history), 5.8 ypc. (2nd), 55 rushing TDs (2nd), 16 100-yard rushing games (8th) 3,836 all-purpose yards (10th) and 61 total TDs (2nd)


John Clay (2008-10)
2010 Doak Walker Award finalist ... 2010 AP third-team All-American ... 2009 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year ... 2009 consensus first-team All-Big Ten ... 2009 Champs Sports Bowl MVP ... ranked eighth in the country with 1,517 rushing yards in 2009 ... rushed for 100+ yards and scored at least one TD in 10 straight games ... career totals of 3,413rushing yards (7th in school history), 5.4 ypc. (4th), 41 rushing TDs (6th) and 18 100-yard rushing games (5th)


P.J. Hill (2006-08)
2006 national Freshman of the Year ... 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year ... 2006 first-team All-Big Ten ... 2006 Doak Walker Award semifinalist ... seventh-best rushing total for a freshman in NCAA history ... ranked sixth in the country with 1,569 rushing yards in 2006 ... joined Billy Marek and Ron Dayne as the only Badgers to rush for at least 1,000 yards in three-straight seasons ... career totals of 3,942 rushing yards (3rd in school history), 5.1 ypc. (T7th), 42 rushing TDs (T3rd) and 20 100-yard rushing games (3rd)



Remember to vote early and often for the All-Bielema team either on Facebook or Twitter using #AllBielemaTeam (follow @BadgerFootball).

Of all the improbable achievements in Wisconsin athletics history, the 2001-02 Badger men's basketball team has to rank among the most remarkable.

With a roster featuring just one returning starter and only eight scholarship players, first-year head coach Bo Ryan watched his squad struggle to a 1-4 start. Incredibly, Ryan's team would spend the next four months battling back to earn a share of the school's first Big Ten championship in 55 years.

At halftime of Sunday's 65-55 win over Penn State, the University of the Wisconsin honored the 10-year anniversary of that 2002 Big Ten Championship team.

As seen in the video above, members of the team and staff were introduced Sunday to a standing ovation from a capacity Kohl Center crowd.

The 2001-02 Badgers won their final six conference games to finish the season with a 19-13 record, including an 11-5 mark in Big Ten play. Wisconsin earned a share of the Big Ten Conference title for the first time since 1947 and earned the league's No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. UW would advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament that year before falling to eventual national champion Maryland.

Ryan became the first-ever Badger coach to earn Big Ten Coach of the Year honors after leading UW to 19 wins, most ever for a first-year coach. He also became just the 10th coach in conference history to win a league title in his first season.

RELATED CONTENT

• Unlikely champs set stage for Ryan era - Matt Lepay, UWBadgers.com
• Ryan's first team greased the wheels - Tom Oates, Wisconsin State Journal
• 2001-02 Season Recap
• 2001-02 Roster
• 2001-02 Schedule/Results
• 2001-02 Statistics

Badgers' head coach Bret Bielema is entering his seventh season patrolling UW's sidelines. While that may not sound like much, he is already the second-longest tenured head coach in the Big Ten (trailing only Iowa's Kirk Ferentz). Among the 66 BCS schools, only 12 coaches (Frank Beamer - Virginia Tech, Mack Brown - Texas, Ferentz, Bob Stoops - Oklahoma, Jim Grobe - Wake Forest, Gary Pinkel - Missouri, Mark Richt - Georgia, Jeff Tedford - California, Mike Riley - Oregon State, Mike Gundy - Oklahoma State, Steve Spurrier - South Carolina and Les Miles - LSU) have been in their current roles longer than Bielema.

With that as a backdrop, we felt it was a good time to take a look back and see what would happen if we took the best players from the past six seasons and lined them up on one team. A number of spirited debates come to mind. Who plays left tackle, Gabe Carimi or Joe Thomas? Which 1,000-yard rusher do you prefer, P.J. Hill, John Clay or Montee Ball? Who do you want directing the offense, John Stocco, Scott Tolzien or Russell Wilson? What's your preference at linebacker, Jonathan Casillas, DeAndre Levy, Mike Taylor or Chris Borland?

Since 2006, UW has produced some great football players. Sixteen different players have earned All-America honors, with 11 of them being named first-team All-Americans. The Badgers have had finalists for the Heisman Trophy, Doak Walker Award, John Mackey Award, Rimington Trophy, Ted Hendricks Award, Manning Award and Lou Groza Award. In addition, Tolzien won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Watt won the Lott IMPACT trophy, and Carimi and Thomas both won the Outland Trophy.

Nineteen Badgers that played for Bielema were on NFL rosters at the end of the 2011 season. In five NFL drafts, 16 UW players have been taken and this year Wisconsin had eight players invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, the most in school history and the second-most in the country.

So instead of just coming up with a team on our own and have people question our thought process, we wanted to open it up to fans to pick the team. Starting today (Monday, Feb. 20) fans will be able to vote on the Wisconsin Football Facebook page. Each day until Sunday, March 11, a different poll will be revealed asking for the fans' choice at a different position. Fans can also vote on Twitter using the hashtag #AllBielemaTeam (follow @BadgerFootball).

After compiling all the votes, the All-Bielema team will be announced in the March 15 edition of 'Varsity' the official online magazine of Wisconsin Athletics.

Vote early and often!

Patrick Herb and Karl Anderson covered all the action with the Gameday Blog as the Badgers defeated Penn State, 65-55, at the Kohl Center.