Inspired by a tweet from former Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Joe Schobert, please enjoy “The Ballad of Three-Sack Jack,” set to the music of Billy Joel’s “The Ballad of Billy the Kid.”
From a town known as Somerset, Wisconsin
Rode a boy walking on among the men
But his tackles and his sacks
Made him feared by quarterbacks
East and West in the great Big Ten
Well he first came known in sunny San Diego
when he fell a Trojan, back-to-back-to-back
and his age and his size
took Cody Kessler by surprise
and the word spread of Three-Sack Jack
Well he played just one full season
but he always wore a smile
and he soon put many running backs to shame
and he always loved Camp Randall
and he wasn't here a while
but the Badger fans forever know his name
Well he made his way from Lambeau to Iowa City
and the linemen could not seem to track him down
and it served his legend well
for the folks they loved to tell about
When Three-Sack-Jack came to town
Well one warm day his knee collapsed in practice
and he later said he felt it pop and crack
And the Badgers and their kin
like the sea, came pouring in, to mourn
the end of Three-Sack Jack
Well he played just one full season
but he always wore a smile
and he soon put many running backs to shame
and he always loved Camp Randall
though he wasn't here a while
still, in April he is sure to hear his name
From a town known as Madison, Wisconsin
Rides a captain and a leader of his men
And his tackles and his sacks
Made him feared by quarterbacks
East and West in the great Big Ten