MADISON — Cooper Catalano earned his starting spot as a true freshman middle linebacker for the Wisconsin Badgers last season. Now, with added size, strength and experience, he has become one of the leaders of the Badgers' defense heading into the new season.
"The biggest difference for me from this year to last year is probably that leadership just said last year, you know, trying to get my feet wet, getting kinda used to college football, and this year, you know, taking on a bigger role, bigger leadership role. Sides of them they changed for me so far," Catalano said.
Defensive coordinator Mike Tressel said Catalano's growth has been both physical and instinctual.
"First and foremost, he's always had a GPS for the football. That hasn't been a problem. Where he's grown is actually physically, literally grown bigger, stronger, faster," Tressel said.
Watch the story below to see some of Catalano's highlights from the 2025 season...
Catalano will team up with fellow linebacker Mason Posa to anchor the middle of the Badgers' defense. The roommates have developed chemistry both on and off the field, and they expect that connection to pay off on Saturdays.
"He knows every moment. That's the great thing about us. They're recording tackles, you know, in a single game, not doing the same thing in high school. I'd always give them, you know, some crap about, you know, stat padding in high school because he told me, like 20. There's no way. They just give you every single tackle at that point," Posa said.
The jokes may never stop, but neither does Catalano's drive to improve.
"You know, I'm still looking for a bunch of things. I'm not gonna sit here until I got it all figured out, but now I've got a bunch of things. I'm working on my overall football knowledge, working on leadership, working on my past game. So we're on everything really," Catalano said.
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