BADGERS FOOTBALL It took Tyler Van Dyke less than 30 seconds to find them on his phone. He held out his device and showed a series of pictures after a lengthy chat with a reporter inside a meeting room at the McClain Center last month, each one featuring a bit more detail than the last. The photos were of Van Dyke's legs midway through last football season.
The then-Miami quarterback suffered a Morel-Lavallée lesion after being tackled against North Carolina, an injury in which the skin separated from the muscle and fat layers of his right leg from the knee down. His leg was so swollen that he couldn't bend it for a short period of time, and the injury affected his mobility throughout the rest of his fourth and final season with the Hurricanes. The pictures serve as both a reminder of what he's been through and what he's willing to put himself through to play the game of football.
Van Dyke loves this game, but that love has been tested during his college career, one that will conclude with the University of Wisconsin after he transferred into the program in December. Injuries and actions of those around him have challenged him in ways he never had considered, but he comes to the Badgers hopeful that he's found a place to show his passion for the sport and play his best before chasing his NFL dreams. "Even with the struggles and all that adversity, I think it's a good learning lesson for my future, anything I do," Van Dyke said when reflecting on his college career thus far.
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