Each day this week, UWBADGERS.COM will profile one of the four new faces to the UW football team. Each of the four players arrived early on campus to get a head start on Spring Football and the 2008 season. In our last installment, we will take a look at Jake Byrne, a tight end from Rogers, Ark.

How does a young man from northwestern Arkansas make his way all the way up to Madison, Wis.? Well, it had a lot to do with his dad. Jake Byrne (pronounced burn) is one of the nation’s top tight ends coming out of high school. Byrne is rated as the 40th-best tight end by Rivals.com, the 123rd-best player by SuperPrep and the No. 11 player in Arkansas.

Jake was a three-year letterwinner at Rogers High School where he caught 105 passes for 1,130 yards and eight touchdowns in his career. Four of those touchdowns and 530 yards came during his senior campaign. Like Jake Current and Curt Phillips, Byrne finished his high school requirements early and has been in Madison for a couple weeks already.

Byrne’s father, Jeff, grew up in Shullsburg, Wis., a small town about 75 miles southwest of Madison. There he played high school football before moving on and playing a couple years at UW-La Crosse.

“My dad was really supportive of me,” said Byrne. “He never told me you should go here or there, but he wanted me to look at every place I could and then make my decision. He said that I was the only one who could make the decision, it wasn’t going to be made for me.”

With Jake’s grandparents still living in Shullsburg, Jake made the trip to Wisconsin and instantly fell in love with the program and the tradition of the University of Wisconsin. His father never pressured him to go anywhere, but talking to Jake it sounds like the family was pretty happy with his decision.

“I was getting pretty heavily recruited in Arkansas, but when I came up here it just felt right,” said Byrne. “The selling point for me was the coaching staff. I came up here and got a great feeling from them, they really made me feel excited to be here and play football for Wisconsin.”

Being 12 hours from home you would think that it would be a little tough on Jake, but he has taken everything in stride making the most of his opportunity. Even though the weather isn’t quite as nice here, the rest of his teammates have made up for it welcoming the youngster to Madison.

“The other guys have been really helpful showing me the little things around here and what sort of things the coaches are going to be looking for me to do,” said Byrne. “Not only the tight ends, but all the players have been great helping us new guys out.”

Every day brings something new to the table and for Jake and the rest of the freshman every day is a whole new learning experience. Jake knows that there is going to be a lot more thrown his way in the near future and he is planning on doing everything he can to contribute to the team.

“I’ve had fun so far, and I can’t wait to see what else is coming,” said Byrne.

Look for Byrne’s No. 82 on the field this spring as the Badgers open spring practice the first week of March in preparation for the annual Spring Game on April 19.

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