When fall camp ended a year ago and Joe Ferguson didn’t find his name on the University of Wisconsin football team’s depth chart, he feared the worst about how his Badgers career may end.
Ferguson had seen action in 30 career games and even started one. His playing time, however, remained limited to mostly special teams, and he hadn’t felt completely comfortable at safety since undergoing labrum surgery his freshman year.
Despite being a redshirt junior at the time, Ferguson thought the 2016 season might be his last with the Badgers.
"I was kind of thinking, ‘Man, they’re probably going to ask me not to take my fifth year,’” Ferguson said.