MADISON, Wis. — A freshman just led the University of Wisconsin football team in tackles against the No. 1 team in the country.
That’s not too shabby for someone who’s just a little over 13 months from setting the state’s all-time high school record for tackles.
Catalano enrolled early at Wisconsin in January and has emerged as a significant contributor for the Badgers’ inside linebacker group this fall. Coach Luke Fickell said Catalano and fellow freshman Mason Posa “battled their asses off” and were among the few bright spots during Wisconsin’s 34-0 home loss to No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday. Catalano tallied eight tackles overall.
“I think coming in, I just tried to keep the mindset of trying to just get better every day, and kind of seeing where that takes me,” Catalano said. “Like I said before, I had a really good room help me get to this point now, a lot of guys helped me get to where I am today.”
Catalano and Wisconsin (2-5, 0-4 Big Ten) will travel to Eugene later this week to face No. 6 Oregon (6-1, 3-1) for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff Saturday. Here’s what Catalano touched on during his Tuesday group interview with reporters inside the Badgers’ facilities:
