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Wisconsin Football Countdown: No. 22, Troy Vincent

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 22 days until college football is back, is Troy Vincent.

One of the best defensive backs to ever walk the sidelines at UW, Vincent chose the Badgers out of his hometown of Trenton, New Jersey and played at Wisconsin from 1988-1991.

Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers /

Wisconsin Badgers

Vincent recorded 24 passes defended — including 13 in 1991 alone — and 21 pass breakups  — 15 in 1991 — in his career.

A skilled returner as well, he had three punt return touchdowns in his career and once amassed 246 total return yards in a single game, against Western Illinois in 1991.

He left UW with 773 career punt return yards, then a school record (since broken by Jim Leonhard and Nick Davis). He averaged 11.4 yards per return in his career.

He was a team captain in 1991, and earned the team MVP award as well as All-American and first-team All-Big Ten honors. He was named Co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 1991, as well, and was a Jim Thorpe Award semi-finalist.

Vincent was the seventh overall selection in the 1992 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He played in Miami from 1992-1995, for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1996-2003, for the Buffalo Bills from 2004-2006, and for the Washington Redskins in 2006.

He made five straight Pro Bowls during his time with the Eagles from 1999-2003, and was a three-time All-Pro from 2000-2002.

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Vincent was the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year and the “Whizzer” White NFL Man of the Year in 2002, and the Bart Starr Man of the Year in 2004.

He joined Jamar Fletcher on Wisconsin’s All-Alvarez team in 2005, and was voted into the Eagles’ Hall of Fame in 2012.

After retiring, Vincent was the President of the NFL Players Association. He is currently the NFL executive vice president of football operations.

Who wore No. 22 first?

• Quarterback N.B. Hayes was the first Badgers player to wear No. 22 in 1927.

Who wears No. 22 now?

• Redshirt freshman running back Caleb Kinlaw currently wears No. 22 for the Badgers.

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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