Polzin: The great tight end debate settles best Wisconsin No. 84

Editor’s note: BadgerExtra columnist Jim Polzin is picking the best University of Wisconsin football players at each jersey number, updating a project he helped complete in 2008. Today he looks closer at numbers 80 through 89.
One of my first steps after making all of my selections for this updated Wisconsin football all-time roster was to sort the players by position, mainly out of curiosity.
The thing that stood out the most from that breakdown was a lower-than-expected final tally at tight end. That’s been a position of strength over the years for the Badgers, yet I’ve also come to understand that it’s an easy spot to overlook and maybe I did, too.
Some of it comes down to a simple case of jersey allocation: Most tight ends wear numbers in the 40s, where they’re head-to-head with linebackers; or in the 80s, where they’re up against wide receivers. When comparing players and trying to determine who’s the best, it’s difficult for a tight end to compete with someone at a spot where it’s easier to produce gaudy numbers.
And, in one example that we’ll highlight today, two of the best tight ends in program history were up against each other.
Welcome to the club
Does anyone have a scissors I can borrow to cut the No. 84 jersey in half (or into three pieces)? That’s what it’s come to after trying to determine a winner between Donald Hayes, Lance Kendricks and Jake Ferguson.
Hayes had 106 catches for 1,575 yards and four touchdowns in his career. Those aren’t great numbers, but a certain No. 33 had the ball in his hands a lot during Hayes’ two seasons as a starter.
Kendricks finished his career with 78 catches for 1,160 yards and eight touchdowns. He arrived as a wide receiver, got bigger and waited his turn before becoming a regular his final two seasons.
Ferguson had 145 catches for 1,618 yards and 13 touchdowns. He’s the clear statistical winner in this comparison, and perhaps that’s where it ends for some.
I don’t think it’s an automatic to eliminate Hayes even though he didn’t garner any all-conference honors, but I eventually came to that conclusion to make this a tight end vs. tight end matchup.
Kendricks 84
Lance Kendricks led the Badgers with 43 catches for 663 receiving yards as a senior in 2010.
Ferguson has the stats. He also has a pair of first-team All-Big Ten honors, one more than Kendricks. But Kendricks has something Ferguson doesn’t: He was named a first-team All-American by three outlets as a senior in 2010.
Kendricks’ final two seasons came with Scott Tolzien at quarterback, while Ferguson was catching passes from Graham Mertz over his final two seasons. Points to Ferguson for that handicap.
Kendricks once had 91 rushing yards in a game against Purdue, carrying the ball four times on end-around plays that UW called the “H-around” since Kendricks technically was an H-back. One of those plays went for 54 yards. Bonus points to Kendricks.
Kendricks was drafted in the second round, while Ferguson went in the fourth round. Should that matter? Kendricks went on to play nine seasons in the NFL and had a solid career. Ferguson, a rookie in 2022, may get to that point eventually.
My pick: Kendricks by a nose, but this is one worth revisiting down the road to see if Ferguson puts together an NFL resume that can come close to matching Kendricks.
This next decision was another one that had me going back and forth and ended with a flip-flop at the buzzer.
The incumbent at No. 86 is Ron Leafblad, who was a starter on the 1962 Big Ten championship team that lost a 42-37 thriller to Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl. Leafblad was known more for his blocking as a tight end but caught a touchdown pass in a 14-9 victory over Minnesota, a battle of top-5 teams and the win that clinched UW’s trip to Pasadena. Leafblad, a team captain as a senior in 1964, played on both sides of the ball and actually considered himself a better defensive player.
Erickson 86
Alex Erickson had 77 catches for 978 yards as a senior in 2015.
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His challenger is Alex Erickson, who is sixth all-time at UW in receptions (141) and 10th in receiving yards (1,877). As I’ve said in other examples, I try really hard to avoid recency bias and try to find compelling reasons for making changes to the voting panel’s results from 2008.
Here’s what ultimately had me tilt in Erickson’s favor: Only three UW wide receivers have earned first-team All-Big Ten honors since Al Toon did it in back-to-back seasons nearly 40 years ago: Lee Evans (twice), Jared Abbrederis (twice) … and Erickson in 2015, when he caught 77 passes for 978 yards.
Erickson is my new No. 86.
Garrett Graham was closing in on taking over the No. 89 jersey when this all-time roster originally was announced. He’d just earned first-team All-Big Ten honors as a junior and wouldn’t have to share targets with Travis Beckum — No. 9 on this roster — the following season.
Graham took advantage and once again earned All-Big Ten honors, finishing with 51 catches for 624 yards and seven touchdown receptions in 2009.
He moves into the spot previously held by Albert Hannah, a wide receiver who led the Badgers with 608 receiving yards as a senior in 1971 and is tied for sixth at UW in average yards per reception (17.4).
Stop to consider
David Gilreath had a solid career at UW and provided one of the most memorable moments of the past 15 years with a 97-yard touchdown return to open the Badgers’ 31-18 victory over No. 1 Ohio State in 2010. He’d be a good pick at No. 85.
Graham 89
Garrett Graham earned first-team All-Big Ten honors twice during his UW career.
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But I’m keeping Bryan Jurewicz, who started 41 games from 1993-96, in that spot. Jurewicz produced 26 career tackles for loss while rotating between outside linebacker, defensive end and defensive tackle.
How it looks now
An updated list of the top players to wear each jersey, from 80 through 89, with the best choice from the past 15 years in parentheses.
80 — Dave Schreiner (jersey retired)
81 — Hal Faverty (Troy Fumagalli)
82 — Tony Simmons (Jake Byrne)
83 — Allan Shafer (jersey retired)
84 — Lance Kendricks (Kendricks)
85 — Bryan Jurewicz (David Gilreath)
86 — Alex Erickson (Erickson)
87 — Al Toon (Quintez Cephus)
88 — Pat Richter (jersey retired)
89 — Garrett Graham (Graham)
Rest of the list
Nos. 90-99 (Thursday)