| Wisconsin Badgers — No. 28 | |
| Running Back | Junior |
| Major: Sociology | |
| Date of birth: December 5, 1990 | |
| Place of birth: Wentzville, Missouri | |
| Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | Weight: 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) |
| Career history | |
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| High school: Timberland High School,[1] Wentzville, Missouri |
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College(s):
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Stats at ESPN.com | |
Montee Ball, Jr. (born December 5, 1990)[2] is an American football running back for the Wisconsin Badgers.
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Ball began the 2010 season as the backup running back to John Clay, the 2009 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. Clay was somewhat limited in 2010 as he nursed offseason ankle surgery and later an MCL injury, so Ball gained a prominent role in the Badgers offense, along with freshman back James White. At the end of the 2010 season, Ball rushed for 996 yards which was third on the team behind James White and John Clay and led the Badgers with 18 rushing touchdowns.[3]
On November 5, 2011, Ball rushed for a career high 223 yards against the Purdue Boilermakers. During that game, Ball scored four touchdowns (three rushing and one receiving) which gave him 146 total points scored on the season. This broke Brian Calhoun's school record for total points in a single season of 144.
On November 12, 2011, Ball broke the single season Big Ten Conference record for touchdowns by rushing for two and receiving one against the Minnesota. Ball had 27 touchdowns (23 rushing and 4 receiving) at the end of that game. The previous record of 26 was held by Ohio State's Pete Johnson (1975), Indiana's Anthony Thompson (1988) and Penn State's Ki-Jana Carter (1994).
On November 19, 2011, Ball became just the fifth player in NCAA Division I FBS history to score 30 touchdowns in a single season.
On November 26, 2011, Ball scored four touchdowns against Penn State, and four more in the Big 10 Championship game one week later giving Ball 38 total touchdowns on the season which is 2nd all-time in FBS. He trails Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders who scored 39 touchdowns in 1988.
Ball was one of three finalists for the 2011 Doak Walker Award joining Oregon's LaMichael James and Alabama's Trent Richardson. The award was given to Alabama's Trent Richardson.
Ball was named First Team All-Big Ten, by both the coaches and media, at the conclusion of the 2011 regular season. Ball was also the winner of two other Big Ten awards. The Graham-George Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year award which was renamed in 2011 after of Northwestern's Otto Graham and Ohio State's Eddie George and the Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year award which was also renamed in 2011 after Wisconsin's Alan Ameche and Ron Dayne. [4]
On December 5, 2011, Ball was named one of five finalists for the Heisman Trophy. He is joined by Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu and Alabama running back Trent Richardson. [5] On the same day, Ball was named All-American by AFCA joining teammates Peter Konz and Kevin Zeitler.[6] Ball was also named All-American by CBS again joined by teammate Peter Konz.
On December 8, 2011, Ball was named First Team All-American by Yahoo Sports. Ball's teammates Peter Knoz and Kevin Zeitler were named to the Second Team and quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Chris Borland was named to the Third Team.[7]
On December 10, 2011, Ball was one of five finalists invited to New York City for the presentation of the Heisman Trophy. He finished fourth in the voting with 348 points (22-1st place, 83-2nd place and 116-3rd place points). Ball's fourth place finish was the highest in Wisconsin history for a non-winner of the award. Ball was joined by teammate Russell Wilson who also received votes, Wilson finished ninth with 52 points. Baylor's Robert Griffin III won the award.[8]
On January 2, 2012, Ball scored his 39th touchdown of the season tying him with Barry Sanders for most touchdowns in a single FBS season.
| Year | Team | Att | Yards | Avg | Long | Rush TDs | Rec | Yards | Rec TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Wisconsin | 98 | 391 | 4.0 | 35 | 4 | 9 | 92 | 0 |
| 2010 | Wisconsin | 163 | 996 | 6.1 | 44 | 18 | 16 | 128 | 0 |
| 2011 | Wisconsin | 307 | 1,923 | 6.3 | 54 | 33 | 24 | 306 | 6 |
| College Totals | 568 | 3,310 | 5.8 | 57 | 55 | 49 | 526 | 6 | |
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