The Wisconsin Badgers are a win away from a likely berth in the College Football Playoff.
The team plays the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday night in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis.
Wisconsin (12-0) is almost a lock to make college football's final four and compete for a national championship with a victory.
This week, a pair of Badger defensive linemen from the Milwaukee area were both named to All Big Ten teams.
Conor Sheehy, who starred at Marquette University High School, was a second-team All Big Ten selection by the coaches.
Alec James, who played his high school football at Brookfield East, was named second team All Big Ten by both the coaches and the media.
"Alec was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of athlete," said Brookfield East football and track coach Mike Steiner.
Steiner said James excelled on the football field. The Brookfield East Spartans were 3-6 when James was a freshman. By the time he was a senior, the squad went 10-1 and won a conference title.
James also contributed on three, state championship track teams.
"He was a tremendous character. He was a great leader. He led by example, and you knew back then that he was going to go somewhere and be special," Steiner said.
Much like James, Sheehy left a legacy of hard work and excellence at Marquette University High School.
His high school football coach, Jeffrey Mazurczak, said Sheehy was a quiet, hard-working player who led by example.
"You're not going to find a bigger effort guy," Mazurczak said of Sheehy. "He's going to give you everything he has, and then keep going after that."
The coach said Sheehy set a goal of winning a national title back when he was still a high school student. He graduated from Marquette High in 2014.
"One of the things he said while he was here, and he was very adamant about it, was 'I want an opportunity to win a national championship,'" Mazurczak said.
Here's a list of other Southeastern Wisconsin natives now playing for the Badgers:
- Jazz Peavy - Kenosha (Tremper H.S.)
- Blake Mielke - Hartland (Arrowhead H.S.)
- Chikwe Obasih - Brookfield (Central H.S.)
- Kobe Knaak - Franklin (Franklin H.S.)
- Sam DeLany - Delafield (Kettle Moraine H.S.)
- Peter Roy - Muskego (Muskego H.S.)
- Hegeman Tiedt - Burlington (Burlington H.S.)
- David Pfaff - Mequon (Homestead H.S.)
- Zach Baun - Brown Deer (Brown Deer H.S.)
- Michael Balistreri - Grafton (University School of Milwaukee)
- Brett Connors - New Berlin (New Berlin West H.S.)
- Tyler Beach - Grafton (Port Washington H.S.)
- Beau Benzschawel - Grafton (Grafton H.S.)
- Luke Benzschawel - Grafton (Grafton H.S.)
- Jason Erdmann - Richfield (Slinger H.S.)
- Connor Allen - New Berlin (Brookfield East)
- Matt Henningsen - Menomonee Falls (MFHS)
- Billy Hirschfeld - Okauchee (Arrowhead H.S.)
