Wisconsin Football Countdown: No. 11, DeAndre Levy, Owen Daniels and More

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 11 days until college football is back, is  a slew of Badgers who wore the number. It was tough to pick just one, so we’ll briefly mention a few — Darrell Bevell, Ed Withers, Owen Daniels and DeAndre Levy.

Darrell Bevell

Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin Badgers

At Wisconsin from 1992-1995, Bevell came out of nowhere to start for four years at Wisconsin. He led the Badgers to back-to-back Rose Bowls in 1993 and 1994.

By the time of his graduation, Bevell had set Wisconsin records for career completions passing yards (7,686) and single-game passing yards (423). He’s also the team leader with 1,052 career pass attempts and 646 career pass completions.

He amassed a .614 completion percentage during his Wisconsin career, and threw for 59 touchdowns.

Bevell went undrafted in 1995, but has been coaching ever since and is currently the offensive quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks.

Ed Withers

Withers was a Badgers defensive back in 1947 and 1949-1951, a member of the famed “hard rocks” defense.

He was one of the first African American regular starters for the Badgers after coming to UW following service in the US Army.

1950 was a big year for Withers, and against Iowa he picked off three passes, returning one for a touchdown and setting up another TD with his second pick in a 14-0 win over the Hawkeyes.

He earned first team All-American honors in both 1950 and 1951.

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Owen Daniels

At UW from 2002-2005, Owen Daniels put together a solid career during his time at Wisconsin.

He worked his way up from a special teams player who was used in a variety of ways on the offense, eventually settling as the starting tight end as a senior in 2005.

He totaled 62 catches for 852 yards in his career, averaging 13.7 yards per catch. He played in 43 career games at Wisconsin.

He impressed NFL teams enough to be selected in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans, No. 98 overall.

He has played for the Texans, the Baltimore Ravens and is now on the Denver Broncos.

DeAndre Levy

Levy spent 2005 to 2008 roaming on the Badgers defense as a three-year starter at linebacker.

Levy totaled 211 tackles over the course of his career, and added 21 sacks, a pair of interceptions and six forced fumbles, the third best total in team history. He also recovered six fumbles, the eighth best number in the school record book.

He was the 76th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, and has played the entirety of his career in Detroit

Levy is quickly becoming one of the top linebackers in the NFL.

Who wore No. 11 first?

• Halfback Ken Bartholomew was the first Badgers player to wear No. 11 in 1928.

Who wears No. 11 now?

• Two Badgers currently sport No. 11. On defense, senior T.J. Reynard currently wears the number. On offense, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jazz Peavy wears No. 11.

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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