Efficient inside hands. Impressive grip strength. Heart and soul of the offense.
All those offensive lineman buzz words ring true when talking about Wisconsin center Tyler Biadasz. He grinds, he’s battle tested, he’s every other football and draft cliché under the sun.
But the best way to describe the Amherst, Wisc., native is “country strong.” Just ask him.
“I do think that is pretty accurate,” chuckled Biadasz in an interview this week. “Coming from Amherst, there’s a lot of fields around me – I mean I live out in kind of the middle of nowhere. We have a town of 1,000 people.”
His high school didn’t quite boast the expansive, high tech facilities Biadasz was able to utilize at Wisconsin.
“Going into my freshman year of high school, we went into a weight room that was so small, it had like three squat racks, three bench presses, and a set of dumbbells only up to 110,” said Biadasz. “So I developed at an early stage the mentality that it’s not about having nice things, it’s about what you make of the things you do have.”
So the country boy got creative.
“I didn’t lift calves for weight room training but I did go to the farm milk cows with my grandpa,” chuckled Biadasz. “Throwing hay bales on a mound – I’ve done that throughout my whole childhood growing up. And in high school in our football practice we actually used tractor tires – we were going through our camp and we would flip them, we would do team camaraderie exercises, like two or three guys at once and we would have these races.”
Strength is the cornerstone of any great offensive lineman but growing up in the country taught the Wisconsin native a few Badger and Big Ten football cornerstones.
“You get this grind mentality,” explained Biadasz. “Coming from Wisconsin and having that gritty mentality, you develop more of your game every year and I think we build that edge of who are you really about and how much you can grow. And also how much are you willing to put yourself out there. Coming from the Big Ten conference taught me that there is no easy game – you could have the right play, right call, right scheme but you have to go in and earn it.”
Biadasz earned all his 41 starts at center. He earned his two-time first-team all-Big Ten honors. And he definitely earned his 2019 Rimmington Trophy, awarded to the nation’s top center – the first in program history. But the accomplishment he speaks most fondly of: helping Badger running back Jonathan Taylor finish with 6,174 career rushing yards.
“Just create a hole for Jonathan Taylor – he just needs a little one,” joked Biadasz when reminiscing about the Big Ten’s premiere rushing attack.
As the 6-foot-4, 314-pound NFL Draft prospect prepares for the next phase of his football career during these uncertain times he brings that “make the best of it” country mentality with him.
“I’m going into an interview with the same energy I go into everything with because that’s my first impression, that’s my only impression,” shared Biadasz. “I’m not going to have two days with the team, those visits you usually have. And you are not doing any workouts with them either so you talk about your film, you really engage and you really put yourself out there and you try and maximize every interview that you have.”
He is likely to virtually impress quite a few teams, sparking interest from organizations that need a tough, smart offensive lineman like the Broncos, the Dolphins or even the Falcons. And while Biadasz is excited he is staying centered.
“The draft is the draft, I have no control over it but I do have control over the interviews I have – controlling the controllables and remembering the uncontrollable, those aren’t your fight,” concluded Biadasz.
Spoken like a true leader. Biadasz will watch the draft at home in Amherst with his mom, dad and brother.
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