Former Holmen Star, Tatum Grass, Earns Scholarship With Badgers

Aaron Morse – 5/5/2022

Tatum Grass has been with the Wisconsin Badgers football team since 2019 as a walk-on player. Now, he’s on scholarship.

Grass, a junior, took a redshirt season in 2019, but quickly found his niche as he played in all seven games in the Covid-shortened 2020 season, with a strong showing on special teams. Last season, it was more of the same as he played in all 13 games and became a leader on the third unit. It’s not the ideal spot to be, but when you are working behind future NFL draft picks, Leo Chenal and Jack Sanborn, it is difficult to crack the rotation. But, Tatum made special teams his thing, and Colten Bartholomew, Wisconsin State Journal, says that is how he earned the trust of his coaches:

That trust showed in the Badgers Spring Practice when Tatum was working exclusively with the first team defense. From Day 1 to the final day on April 22, Grass was on the field with the defensive starters, even with Inside Linebackers Coach, Bill Sheridan, switching up the rotations.

Nobody will really know until preseason camp if that usage will result in him being a starter come opening week, but that paired with being put on scholarship are great signs towards Grass becoming the next big contributor in the Badgers linebackers room.

At Holmen, Grass was an honorable mention all-state at both defensive end and tight end by Wisconsin Football Coaches Association and Associated Press as a senior. He was also named first-team All-Mississippi Valley Conference and MVC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior and was selected to the All-Region team twice by the WFCA. During his Senior season, he collected 14 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. On the offensive side of the ball he had 20 receptions for 325 yards and a touchdown in eight games.