Wisconsin tight end's stock on the rise

Garrett Graham thought he was fine.

After catching a pass and being tackled near the sideline, Wisconsin's tight end returned to the offensive huddle and stayed on the field for another play. That's when Badgers offensive lineman Kraig Urbik looked at Graham's left arm and was horrified.

"It was gushing blood and the skin was kind of pulled back," Graham recalled. "A lot (of my teammates) told me to get out of the game."

The scene took place two years ago against Michigan State at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., a game in which the Badgers prevailed, 37-34. On Saturday, the Spartans (1-2) will return to Madison to take on the Badgers (3-0) in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

Wisconsin is coming off a sloppy 44-14 victory over Wofford, while MSU must rebound from a disappointing 33-30 setback at Notre Dame.

Graham, a senior, has developed into one of the country's top tight ends and the latest in an impressive line of Wisconsin players at that position. And two years ago against the Spartans, Graham gave his coaches a preview of the toughness that would become a hallmark for his career.

The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Graham said his left forearm got caught in the helmet of a Michigan State defender. The result was an ugly patch of flesh hanging off his forearm, which needed 11 stitches in the locker room to fix.

"It took about 10 minutes to get stitched up because they had to pick out all those black pellets from the Field Turf," Graham said.

Less than a quarter later, the Brick, N.J., native was back on the field.

"That just said a huge statement to me about his mental attitude, his toughness and his desire to win," Badgers coach Bret Bielema said.

Like Owen Daniels and Travis Beckum before him, Graham appears poised to become the next Wisconsin tight end in the NFL. In three games this season, Graham, who was a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the media and second-team by the coaches last year, is second on the team with 11 catches for 142 yards and a touchdown.

"I check him every day in practice and it's not easy," said Wisconsin linebacker Jaevery McFadden. "I know what route he's going to run, but he's just got that knack and talent where you can't stop him."

Graham added: "The offense allows us to do a lot of things. Usually we use two tight ends and we're always being looked at in the passing game. We're a big part of the offense and we like to keep the tight end tradition going."

Graham and fellow tight end Lance Hendricks (six catches for 70 yards and a touchdown against Wofford) might see more action than usual this weekend considering the Badgers' running-game troubles. Wisconsin fumbled six times against Wofford, prompting Bielema to say afterward that his team might go with an empty backfield and never run again.

While Bielema was presumably being facetious, he was clearly irate about the fumbling against an inferior opponent.

Saturday's contest in an important Big Ten opener for both teams. For Graham, you can bet he'll be thinking back to the last time MSU visited Madison and hoping for another Badger victory.