The NFL season kicks off Wednesday, September 9 and a number of former Wisconsin high school football standouts will be taking the field. This year 35 alumni made an NFL roster, though a few are on the IR or practice squad. Another five players that were on rosters last year were released late in August and have yet to find a team, or have yet to sign in general.
Three players that are on active rosters have now been in the league for a decade-plus. TJ Watt, a Pewaukee grad, is likely the most well-known name on this list and is a former Defensive Player of the Year, six-time All-Pro and enters his tenth season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Eric Murray of Milwaukee Riverside enters Year 11 in the NFL, with this being his second with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The most tenured on our list of rostered players is Homestead graduate Shelby Harris, who enters his twelfth NFL season and his first with the New York Giants.
A few enter Year 1; Mory Bamba (Menomonee Falls), New York Jets practice squad; Max Bredeson (Arrowhead), Minnesota Vikings; Skyler Gill-Howard (Greenfield), Detroit Lions; Riley Nowakowski (Marquette), Pittsburgh Steelers; Billy Schrauth (Saint Mary’s Springs), Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Jack Strand (Bloomer), Atlanta Falcons; Cole Wisniewski (Sparta), Philadelphia Eagles practice squad.
The longest tenured player from Wisconsin in quite some time called it quits this offseason when special teams ace and Whitefish Bay grad Nick Bellore put a cap on his 15-year NFL season.
Kevin Zeitler is listed as a free agent and has not signed or retired yet. The Wisconsin Lutheran grad would be playing in Year 15 if/when he signs on with a team. Four others were on rosters or practice squads until final cuts in August but have yet to find a home’ Brock Lampe (Kenosha Bradford), Tejhuan Palmer (Brown Deer), Luke Elkin (Neenah), and Nate Valcarcel (Whitnall).
Full List of Players in NFL
First Name | Last Name | NFL Team | College | High School | Position | Year |
Braelon | Allen | New York Jets | Wisconsin | Fond du Lac | RB | 3 |
Mory | Bamba** | New York Jets | BYU | Menomonee Falls | DB | R |
Zack | Baun | Philadelphia Eagles | Wisconsin | Brown Deer | LB | 7 |
Keeanu | Benton | PIttsburgh Steelers | Wisconsin | Janesville Craig | DT | 4 |
Tyler | Biadasz## | Los Angeles Chargers | Wisconsin | Amherst | C | 7 |
Tanor | Bortolini | Inidianpolis Colts | Wisconsin | Kewaunee | C | 3 |
Max | Bredeson | Minnesota Vikings | Michigan | Arrowhead | FB | R |
Ben | Bredeson | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Michigan | Arrowhead | OL | 7 |
Mike | Caliendo | Kansas City Chiefs | Western Michigan | Brookfield East | OL | 4 |
Leo | Chenal | Washington Commanders | Wisconsin | Grantsburg | LB | 5 |
Chimere | Dike | Tennessee Titans | Florida/Wisconsin | Waukesha North | WR | 2 |
Jake | Ferguson | Dallas Cowboys | Wisconsin | Madison Memorial | TE | 5 |
Jon | Gaines II | Arizona Cardinals | UCLA | Marquette University | OL | 4 |
Skyler | Gill-Howard | Detroit Lions | Texas Tech/Northern Iowa | Greenfield | DL | R |
Luke | Goedeke | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Central Michigan | Valders | OL | 5 |
Shelby | Harris | New York Giants | Illinois State | Homestead | DL | 12 |
Matt | Henningsen## | Denver Broncos | Wisconsin | Menomonee Falls | DE | 4 |
Alec | Ingold | Los Angeles Chargers | Wisconsin | Bay Port | FB | 8 |
Easton | Kilty** | New Orleans Saints | Kansas State | Stratford | OL | 2 |
JC | Latham | Tennessee Titans | Alabama | Catholic Memorial/Prep | OT | 3 |
Hunter | Luepke | Dallas Cowboys | North Dakota State | Spencer | FB | 4 |
Marcus | Mbow | New York Giants | Purdue | Wauwatosa East | OL | 4 |
Will | McDonald IV | New York Jets | Iowa State | Waukesha North | EDGE | 4 |
Quinn | Meinerz | Denver Broncos | UW-Whitewater | Hartford | OG/C | 6 |
Eric | Murray | Jacksonville Jaguars | Minnesota | Milwaukee Riverside | S | 11 |
Jack | Nelson** | Minnesota Vikings | Wisconsin | Stoughton | OL | 2 |
Riley | Nowakowski | PIttsburgh Steelers | Indiana/Wisconsin | Marquette University | TE | R |
Dare | Ogunbowale** | Las Vegas Raiders | Wisconsin | Marquette University | RB | 8 |
Billy | Schrauth | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Notre Dame | Saint Mary's Springs | OL | R |
Jack | Strand | Atlanta Falcons | MSU-Moorhead | Bloomer | QB | R |
Cole | Van Lanen | Jacksonville Jaguars | Wisconsin | Bay Port | OL | 6 |
TJ | Watt | PIttsburgh Steelers | Wisconsin | Pewaukee | LB | 10 |
Kristian | Welch** | Green Bay Packers | Iowa State | Iola-Scandinavia | LB | 7 |
Cole | Wisniewski** | Philadelphia Eagles | Texas Tech/North Dakota State | Sparta | S | R |
Hunter | Wohler | Inidianpolis Colts | Wisconsin | Muskego | S | 2 |
** | Denotes | Practice Squad | ||||
## | Denotes | on IR |
Players at the FBS Level
Colton Wilson serves a contributor and member of Bound Wisconsin. Wilson has worked in high school sports for 10 years, covering the state of Wisconsin in various sports. He has had roles in content creation, boys basketball coverage, director of events, and data management. Wilson is a graduate of Richland Center High School where he will currently serves as the Varsity Reserve boys basketball coach, entering his eleventh year coaching at the high school level. Wilson also has officiated basketball and organized youth tournaments for multiple years. You can follow him on Twitter at @ColtonWilson23 or reach him at [email protected].
