Best Wisconsin football players: Modern-era Mount Rushmore – From Ron Dayne to Jonathan Taylor

Left tackle Joe Thomas will become only the second former Badger to be inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, joining wide receiver Elroy Hirsch. Thomas was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019 and will be a first-ballot inductee into Canton as soon as he’s eligible in 2023.

Though he never played in a playoff game during his 11-year career with the Cleveland Browns, Thomas took home the Outland Trophy as a senior in 2006. He was a unanimous All-American that year for Wisconsin, as well as earning his second All-Big Ten First Team designation.

His induction into the College Football Hall of Fame only two years after his pro retirement was a pleasant surprise, but people don’t appreciate what Thomas overcame in his final season at Wisconsin. In Barry Alvarez’s final game as a head coach in 2005, Thomas tore his ACL in the Capital One Orange Bowl. He could have gone pro and been a top-15 pick, but he opted to stay.

Thomas dominated his competition in 2006, helping Wisconsin get back to the Orange Bowl and avenged their bowl loss from a season ago. Thomas went No. 3 overall in the 2007 NFL Draft to the Browns behind only JaMarcus Russell to the then-Oakland Raiders and Calvin Johnson to the Detroit Lions. Simply put, Thomas is one of the 10 greatest left tackles in football history.