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Wisconsin Football Countdown: No. 20, Ed Crofoot and James White

By Jim Oxley

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As the countdown to the first Wisconsin football game of the season continues, Badger of Honor is taking a look at Badgers by the numbers, checking in on a different Badger or Badgers players who wore the number corresponding with the remaining days until the Badgers head to Texas to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday, Sept. 5.

Next up in our countdown, signifying 20 days until college football is back, is a pair of Wisconsin rushers, Ed Crofoot and James White.

Ed Crofoot

“Toad” Crofoot spent 1925-1927 at UW out of his hometown of Mason City, Iowa.

Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers /

Wisconsin Badgers

Not much information is available about “Toad,” other than that he was a first team All-Big Ten selection in 1927, the same season he was a team captain and the Jimmy Demetral Team MVP, the second recorded team MVP in school history.

James White

We know much more about a more recent No. 20, James White, who played at UW from 2010-2013.

He was quietly one of the best running backs in school history — quietly because he always seemed to share the spotlight with guys like John Clay, Montee Ball and Melvin Gordon.

Still, White was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2010, and helped the Badgers win three straight Big Ten titles from 2010-2012. He was a four-time player of the week his freshman season.

He finished his Wisconsin career with 4,015 rushing yards, the 5th best total in school history. He scored 45 rushing touchdowns (48 total — 3 receiving and he also threw one TD) as a Badger, and had a career average of 6.24 yards per carry, second only to Melvin Gordon. White had 18 career 100-yard rushing games as a Badger.

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He was selected 130th overall in the 4th round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He won a Super Bowl with the Patriots in his first season in the league.

Who wore No. 20 first?

• Crofoot was the first Badger to wear the number.

Who wears No. 20 now?

• Redshirt sophomore fullback Austin Ramesh currently wears No. 20 for the Badgers. He will be Derek Watt‘s primary backup this season.

Stay tuned to Badger of Honor as we continue our daily countdown in preparation of the season opener against Alabama.

Next: Wisconsin Football Experience

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