BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin placekicker Rafael Gaglianone watched the Michigan State game from a couch in his apartment. He had the place to himself because his roommate, T.J. Edwards, a starting linebacker, was in East Lansing, Michigan, helping the Badgers win their Big Ten opener.
Gaglianone didn't want any company.
"I didn't really want to be socializing with anybody," said Gaglianone, who didn't make the trip because of a back injury. "I knew how much the game meant to us and I wanted to watch it by myself. I was screaming a lot – cheering for the guys – knowing how much every play means to them.
"It was a different experience, for sure, not traveling and having never missed a game before. Watching on TV was so different. It's just so hard to be a normal fan and be on the couch and not be there for my teammates. You feel like you're kind of letting them down."
Last Saturday, Gaglianone was back on his couch watching the Badgers battle Michigan. A little over 48 hours earlier he had season-ending back surgery. He wasn't alone this time. His mom, Marta Nogueira, was at his side after traveling 5,000-plus miles from their home in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
"There were flight delays and she got here the day after the surgery (Thursday)," he said. "It has been great, she helped me through the first few days, the toughest ones. Just having someone around giving you mental support is the biggest thing with injuries. You have to have a good positive mindset."
As for the 14-7 loss to the Wolverines, he said, "Intense … every single play."
He re-emphasized how hard it was to watch from afar because "you can't control anything."
Linebacker Vince Biegel knows the feeling. Although he had a house-full for the Michigan game, including his girlfriend and some former UW players – his brother Hayden, Arthur Goldberg, Ben Hemer and Jake Meador – he admitted, "It was tough because I wanted to be out there helping in any way."
But he was grounded after undergoing foot surgery Thursday. Yep, same day as Gaglianone. Despite appearances, it was not a two-for-one special. Gaglianone had his surgery in the morning, Biegel in the evening. They didn't even see each other at the hospital. But they will in the training room.
Although they're are on different class schedules and clocks for their rehabs – Biegel is working to get back as soon as possible, Gaglianone is just hoping to have an off-season to get ready for next season – they're more conscious than ever of their timelines and fate.
"All in all," said Gaglianone, a junior, "as bad as the situation is, it has made me grateful for the opportunity I have and grateful for another year coming up and getting this full year back (he's eligible to apply for a medical hardship waiver) to keep working on my craft and come back better than ever."
"I know the Lord put this in my life as a challenge," said Biegel, a senior captain from Wisconsin Rapids. "It's just a small hurdle in the grand scheme of things. I've got a great attitude about it and I'm going to attack it (the rehab) and turn a negative situation into a positive one."
•  •  •  •
Upon further review, there was no indication that Biegel was hurting at Michigan State.
"If you looked at the film, you'd never be able to tell I had an injury," said Biegel, who had one tackle and a couple of quarterback hurries in Wisconsin's 30-6 win. "I wasn't favoring my right foot and I wasn't favoring my leg. I had absolutely no pain at the end of the game."
Last Tuesday, Biegel practiced and said, "I felt very little pain cutting or sprinting on it."
At the very least, whatever the discomfort level, he thought, "It was a soft tissue injury."
After Wednesday's practice, he sought some peace of mind.
X-rays.
"Let's just make sure," he thought to himself.
When the X-rays came back, he confessed, "We were all completely shocked."
There was a fracture.
"To be clear," Biegel stressed Monday, "it wasn't a full fracture. It was less than 25 percent of the bone that actually had the fracture. But it was not going to heal in a week."
Biegel went home that night to consider his options with his family.
"I could play against Michigan," he said. "But if it broke, I would be out for the entire season."
That sounded risky.
"I could play against Michigan," he said, "and get the surgery on Monday."
But that didn't eliminate the risk.
"Or, I could get surgery on Thursday," he said. "That was the conversation we were having."
His parents, Rocky and Jamie, weighed in with their thoughts. But it was his call.
"I felt in my heart," Biegel said, "that I needed to get the surgery the next day."
That's what he expressed to his position coach
Tim Tibesar and head coach
Paul Chryst.
"They showed tremendous respect for me and supported whatever decision I made," Biegel said. "That's a credit to the people at the University of Wisconsin.
"Coach Chryst had one of the biggest games of the year coming up and for him to say that he was there to support me tells you how great of a coach and man he is. That really meant a lot to me."
By then, Biegel had already begun preparing himself mentally for the surgery.
"I know everything happens for a reason," he said, "and I've been able to have a really, really positive attitude since I found out Wednesday night about my injury. From that point on, I decided this could go either one of two ways.
"I could have a bad attitude about this and go in that direction. Or I could say, 'It is what it is, let's get the surgery and attack rehab every single day and get better every single day.' That's what I'm doing, I'm going to have an amazing, positive attitude and embrace the role I'm currently in."
That role, for now, is to support his teammates until he can return to the field.
"I was able to text the guys after the (Michigan) game and tell them how proud I was of them," Biegel said. "What I can say is that our defense played lights out, our defense played with a lot of heart. I didn't have to be at the game to know that."
Garret Dooley replaced Biegel as the starter.
Zack Baun also got some snaps.
"I thought he (Dooley) did a great job of stepping in, knowing his assignment and going out there and executing," said Biegel. "It's nice to have those guys who are not starting, who are role players, step up in a big-time game like that. Garret went in and our defense didn't skip a beat."
Biegel conceded that he had to try and curb his enthusiasm while watching the telecast.
"I couldn't be jumping around," he said, "or running around the house with my foot."
But he did yell at his TV screen a few times.
"I'm going to let my emotions show a little bit," said Biegel, always fully invested.
On Sunday, with the assistance of a knee walker/scooter (to elevate his right leg), he was mobile enough to get to Camp Randall Stadium, where he broke down the film of the Michigan game with Tibesar and the linebackers in their meeting room.
"The surgery went awesome," Biegel reported. "My swelling is almost completely gone. I was able to get off pain meds in a couple of days. My mobility is almost back in the foot. Monday morning, I was able to put a little bit of weight bearing on my foot. Things are ahead of schedule."
But he stopped short of predicting or saying when he was going to be back.
"We're playing it by ear," he insisted.
It's the prudent thing to do.
"But I'm extremely focused on getting on the field as soon as possible."
It's the Biegel thing to do.
•  •  •  •
"Once you hear that – 'You have a season-ending injury' – you just want to get it done as soon as possible so you can take as much time as needed to recover. I know how important the off-season is for a player and that was the one thing that I didn't want to miss."
Leading up to the Sept. 17 Georgia State game, Gaglianone took a couple of days off from practice to rest his back after it had been acting up. He was being cautious due to recent history, back surgery during his freshman season at Wisconsin.
"It felt great before the game and all right during the warmups," he said. "But the more I kicked, the more my right leg was starting to hurt. By halftime, I felt like my leg was kind of locked up. It was a struggle going through that game and there was a whole lot of pain."
Gaglianone made field goals from 41 and 28 yards in the first quarter. Missed from 30 in the second quarter. Hit from 41 in the fourth quarter. But he was struggling. "When you lose your swing, and you're swinging halfway, you don't have the confidence you're the same guy out there," he said.
There was reason to be optimistic, though.
"The symptoms were very different this time," he said. "So I was hopeful it wasn't the same issue … hopeful I was going to be able to play through it … knowing my freshman year I played through a lot of pain and I was still successful for my team. I was hoping it was going to be the same deal."
Maybe all he needed was a little recovery time. So he didn't kick the week of the league opener at Michigan State;
Andrew Endicott handled the placements instead. And last Sunday, Gaglianone said, "I was feeling great. Everything was looking towards me playing this week (at Michigan)."
But things got progressively worse on Monday.
"On Tuesday," Gaglianone said, "when I woke up and tried to get out of bed, I kind of fell down and needed help to get up. From there, I knew my hopes (to return) were just hopes and not much was going to come out of them. It was better to go ahead and fix the problem and have the surgery.
"Once you hear that – 'You have a season-ending injury' – you just want to get it done as soon as possible so you can take as much time as needed to recover. I know how important the off-season is for a player and that was the one thing that I didn't want to miss."
Gaglianone's only missed field goal was in that Georgie State game. Overall, he converted 7-of-8, including the game-winner in the season opener against LSU. Endicott, a kickoff specialist, had not even attempted a field goal at the collegiate level before making a 41-yarder at Michigan State.
"I told him after my injury that he could be a starter at any other school in the Big Ten," said Gaglianone, who has made 77 percent of his career attempts (44-of-57). "He has worked hard and he deserves every kick that he's going to get this year.
"I'm truly confident that he's a really good kicker and he's going to step up for us. I really thought he was going to get a chance at Michigan. Going into the fourth quarter, it was one of those close games, and you're kind of hoping as a kicker that it comes down to you.
"If he did, I was sure that he was going to make it."
Since last week's surgery and announcement that he would be sidelined for the reminder of the season, Gaglianone has heard from many Wisconsin fans and Nebraskans. He endeared himself to the latter by switching from No. 10 to No. 27 out of respect for the memory of the late Sam Foltz.
"Nebraska fans all year long have been amazing to me," he said.
There are some things in the works, according to Gaglianone, for the Oct. 29 game between the Cornhuskers and Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. "I want to do my best spreading the word on who Sam was and carry on his legacy," he said. "I want to find a way to continue to represent him well."
Gaglianone has been overwhelmed by the support in general that he has received since his season ended so abruptly. "It's coming from everybody – family, teammates, friends, fans," said Gaglianone. "It has been amazing going through this and seeing how much love is out there."
It has been no different for Biegel, who feeds off such things. On Monday, he rehabbed for three hours in the morning, lifted weights and rehabbed for another hour in the afternoon. "I give everything I have to the University of Wisconsin," said Biegel, clearly in attack mode. "Everyone knows that."
Or, they should now.
