Wisconsin Football fans received some good news Thursday, as star center Tyler Biadasz decided to put off the NFL and stay in Madison for another season.
It’s clear that Wisconsin center Tyler Biadasz has a future in the NFL, but the pros will have to wait to secure his services for at least one more year.
There has been quite a bit of speculation over the last week as to whether or not Biadasz would make the jump, as he told the media after Wisconsin’s Pinstripe Bowl victory that he would go home and discuss things with his family, but that he felt he was ready for the NFL. Personally, I felt he was more likely to leave than his teammate on the offensive line, right tackle David Edwards.
Instead, two days after Edwards announced his decision to forego his final year of eligibility, Wisconsin announced that Biadasz will be returning to Madison for his redshirt junior season in 2019.
Guess who’s back, back again
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) January 3, 2019
Biadasz is back, tell a friend
Fired up that our guy “Badger” will be leading the way up front once again in 2019. #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/B6LAjDswDA
Biadasz’s return gives a huge boost to the Badgers’ 2019 offensive line. Had he decided to turn pro, Paul Chryst would have had to replace four of his five starters on the line with seniors Michael Deiter and Beau Benzschawel exhausting their eligibility and Biadasz and Edward leaving early.
With Biadasz, Cole Van Lanen, and Jon Dietzen returning to lead the way, the line should be in pretty good shape next season.
Biadasz, in particular, had another outstanding year for the Badgers after being named a Freshman All-American in 2017. He was a consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection this season and was rated the nation’s top center by Pro Football Focus. The Amherst, Wisconsin native has now started 27 consecutive games for Wisconsin.
NFL draft experts certainly took notice of Biadasz’s success this season, with CBS Sports listing him as the No. 1 center and No. 53 overall player in this year’s class.
Truth be told, I was a bit surprised by his decision to return to school, as he seemed like a pretty solid lock to be chosen in the second round or, at worst, the third. However, assuming he has yet another excellent season in 2019, Biadasz could find himself even higher up draft boards than he is right now, and perhaps even sneak into the first round. Should that come to pass, his decision to return to Madison for one more season will end up looking like a pretty wise one.