For my readers out there who are parents, have you ever been in a situation where you're out with your teenager, and they’re trying very hard to pretend like they want to be there but are failing miserably at hiding their displeasure?
The dead stares into the void, only momentarily broken up by poor attempts at not rolling their eyes. The audible and inaudible one after the other letting you know with every breath that they'd rather be anywhere else but with you at that moment. The crossed arms, the slouched posture, and that unmistakable air of resentment they carry with them, all adding up to create a perfect storm of teen angst that threatens to ruin not just their time, but yours as well.
What does this have to do with Wisconsin football? Well this past weekend after yet another disappointing Badgers loss our old friend Braelon Allen (did you know he was only 17 when he played for the Badgers?) took to Twitter to let us know that someday he would tell us all the truth about what happened his last year at Wisconsin. This got me thinking because what exactly is there to tell? Because unless you were blind it was plain as day that Braelon was unhappy with his situation in Madison and wanted to be anywhere but there.
Every time he spoke to the media, he was visibly morose and sullen. Yes, he might have said the “right” things most of the time, but tone and body language can speak much louder than words. On the field his constant nagging injuries were compounded by what looked like from the outside as a lack of effort. Just look at his pass blocking reps pre-Nebraska as an example of "I'm just here so I don't get fined" but on the football field.
I bring up Nebraska because it was after the Northwestern game the previous week when team leader Hunter Wohler publicly called out some of his teammates. Wohler didn’t mince words—he pointed out that certain players weren’t buying into the program, and some had mentally checked out. Now, Wohler didn’t mention any names, but you didn’t have to be a detective to figure out who he was talking about. And taking a look through the comments on Braelon's Twitter post this weekend it is even more obvious who some of those players were. Whether Braelon was a target of Wohler's comments who knows but there was a change in play shortly afterwards that would suggest he took some of Hunter's words to heart.
And he did by fighting through the pain and putting out some gutsy performances when his team needed him most. Maybe he really did care about the team and the program, and these late-season efforts were a testament to that. Maybe he took Wohler’s public call-out personally and wanted to prove that he wasn’t one of the players who had mentally checked out. Or perhaps he was just trying to salvage his plummeting draft stock?
Change isn’t for everyone. Just like a moody teenager might struggle with a new step-parent entering their life, or with the transition to a new school, football players often find it difficult to adjust to change. And let’s not forget that the 2023 season was full of changes for the Wisconsin Badgers from top to bottom. A new head coach, a new system, a new culture which can be a lot for anyone to handle, and especially for someone like Braelon, who had already been thrust into the spotlight at such an early age.
The introduction of a new coach-player relationship can be seen as a disruption to what players often see as their football “family.” There’s a certain loyalty that forms under a specific coaching staff, and when that gets shaken up, it can feel like a betrayal. In some cases, players respond by digging in their heels, refusing to accept the new reality in front of them. The first step toward building trust is the willingness to accept it, but some teenagers aren’t ready or willing to take that step.