Wisconsin's Borland embodies team-first mantra

CHICAGO - Chris Borland stood on the sidelines at a Rose Bowl three years ago, a victim of a shoulder injury that stripped all but two games from his season.

The Wisconsin linebacker didn't mourn for loss of a pinnacle experience. Instead Borland is thankful his team rallied and ascended without him.

"It was difficult," said Borland, now a fifth-year senior. "Obviously you want to be out there. But I would have rather missed a Rose Bowl year than a year where I could have helped the team win more games. If we would have struggled when I was out, that would have been really hard to take."

It's likely Borland, a fifth-year senior, feels differently from most players because he since has experienced the Rose Bowl twice with Wisconsin. He's a back-to-back first-team all-Big Ten linebacker and the unquestioned leader of the Badgers' defense. With 13 forced fumbles, he's one shy of tying the NCAA record and his total nearly doubles second-place Erasmus James (seven) in school history. Borland has 41.5 tackles for loss, ranking eighth all-time for Wisconsin.

"I believe he's the best linebacker in the country in my opinion from what I've seen," first-year Badgers Coach Gary Andersen said. "I've had a unique opportunity to watch him all last summer as we prepared to play Wisconsin while I was at Utah State. And I've also had the opportunity to see him go through spring ball, see him work himself through the winter workouts and how he leads the team."

It's Borland's demeanor that sets him apart from his teammates and his competitors. Few players can flip a switch between quiet, unassuming student and fierce tackling machine. Borland scoffs at the nickname "maniac" and insists his play is the only attribute that embodies that label.

It certainly isn't his laid-back personality.

"I'm not one of these theatrical guys," Borland said. "I don't do the Ray Lewis nonsense. I just like to play the game, and I think it should be played with passion and fire. You don't need to be a cheerleader out there. We have cheerleaders out there."

Andersen vouches for Borland's attitude. Borland provided steady leadership during a turbulent transition when former Coach Bret Bielema bolted for Arkansas last December. The Badgers advanced to their third straight Rose Bowl, which made Bielema's move perplexing and wounded the school's pride.

Wisconsin Athletics Director Barry Alvarez, a Hall of Fame coach, took over as interim head coach and hired Andersen as Bielema's successor. Borland has backed up Andersen and leads by example.

Andersen changed the defense to a 3-4. Borland now is a strong-side inside linebacker and has shed the typical gap responsibility in a typical 4-3 scheme. Borland describes the new defense as "free-flowing" and he's bought in.

"What Chris does consistently is a lot of people talk about leadership on and off the field," Andersen said. "And his consistency with his leadership is the key. There's no ups and downs, no really good days or bad days.  He's not overly flashy.  He's not a rah-rah guy; he's the king of back flips after practice. So I don't know how he does it, but that's kind of his deal.

"But he's so consistent with where he carries himself academically, the expectation level that he has for himself daily, it's easy to follow him.  And that's where his leadership starts. But he also ... he carries himself with the presence of he's approachable for the young players in our program.  He's a big part of our Big Brother program which we've had throughout the summer, bringing the new young men into our program. It's very important."

Andersen also raves for Borland's work ethic. At 5-foot-11, Borland is accustomed to doing more to make up for his lack of size. Borland follows the program, then does a little extra.

"Whether it's one rep or an extra drill, it's do more than everybody else," Borland.

"Chris has also accepted a lot of change at the University of Wisconsin with the coaches since he's been there, and he figures it out," Andersen said. "He understands. He's going to listen to you first. He's going to figure you out as you move along, and then I believe he's going to trust you. And to me that's what a quality young man does. That's what a quality person does."