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Many high school football standouts in Wisconsin go on to big things at the college level and in the pros, and this is our spot to recognize those athletes each week and help you keep up with what is going down on some of your favorite players from the past. If you have alumni news, please send it to Colton Wilson

The Pittsburgh Steelers took down the hometown Green Bay Packers 23-19 this past weekend as the yellow and black defense was stifling. Leading the way for the defense was a pair of former Wisconsin high school and Wisconsin college standouts. Per usual, TJ Watt was a terror. The Pewaukee grad had eight tackles, a sack and two quarterback hits. Watt is third in the NFL with 10.5 sacks this season. Rookie Keeanu Benton is going to rise in terms of defensive lineman ranking in the NFL. The Janesville Craig alum has had an incredible rookie year and had six tackles, two quarterback hits and a pass break up this past Sunday.

Like Benton, Jake Ferguson is turning heads in the NFL. The second year tight end out of Madison Memorial hauled in a touchdown for the third straight game in the Dallas Cowboy's 49-17 win over the New York Giants. Ferguson is tied for third in the NFL amongst tight ends with four touchdown catches on the season.

Addison Ostrenga is seeing more reps at tight end for the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Sun Prairie grad took full advantage this past weekend in the 22-0 win over Rutgers. Ostrenga caught eight balls for 47 yards, both career highs.

A former Rutgers lineman and Racine Lutheran grad is in his final season of college football starting on the Louisville offensive line. Willie Tyler has had stints at Iowa Western CC, Texas, UL-Monroe and Rutgers before playing this season at Louisville. The former Crusader has started for each team along the way.

Though he didn't graduate in the state of Wisconsin, I wanted to highlight former Catholic Memorial standout JC Latham. The now Alabama starter played finished his prep football career at IMG Academy after being one of the top players while in Wisconsin. Latham is regarded as one of the top offensive lineman in the country and a projected first round pick in next year's NFL draft.

Long snapper is a position that gets no recognition and zero accolades on the football field. This year, a trio of former Wisconsin high school football players are performing those duties for an FBS squad. Luke Elkin of Neenah starts at long snapper for Iowa. Thomas Peterson of Homestead is at Jacksonville State and Eli Stein of Cambridge handles long snapping duties for Arkansas.

Nick Howard has had more games recording a pass, rush and reception than any player I've followed in football. The Green Bay Southwest grad did it yet again for Dartmouth in a 30-14 win over Cornell. Howard carried the ball 16 times for 108 yards and three touchdowns. He added one pass completion for 27 yards and caught one ball for a one yard loss.

Josh Dinga has been incredible on the defensive line for Illinois State this year. The former Sun Prairie standout was a mainstay in the opposing backfield this past weekend in a 44-7 win over Murray State. Dinga had seven tackles, three for loss, and added two sacks. For the season, Dinga ranks fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference with eleven tackles for loss and seven sacks.

North Dakota State is having a down year despite a 7-3 record. However, a handful of alumni have been playmakers for the Bison. This past weekend NDSU took down Southern Illinois 34-10. Sparta grad Cole Wisniewski led the team with nine tackles on defense. Pulaski grad Dylan Hendricks added three tackles, one and a half for loss, and a sack.

Shane Dunning has been nothing short of spectacular for the Drake football team this season. The Muskego grad again proved his value in the 16-14 win over Presbyterian. Dunning went three of four on field goals and one of one on PATs. Defensively for the Bulldogs, CJ Grisar of Waukesha West led the team with nine tackles.

Duluth finished its 2023 football season by taking down Minnesota-State Mankato 33-21 this past weekend. Mac Strand was all over the field defensively. The Xavier grad had a game high 16 tackles including one for loss and one and a half sacks. Strand was named the Northern Sun Defensive Player of the Week for his sideline to sideline play. Teammate Marcus Glodowski of Amherst had seven tackles and an interception. Offensively Fond du Lac grad Kyle Walljasper had 289 total yards and three scores while DaShaun Ames of Cumberland had both a rushing and receiving score.

Augustana made the Division 2 playoff field this upcoming weekend, but took care of Bemidji State 38-19 this past weekend. Racine Case grad JayVian Farr is part of a Augie defensive backfield that is littered with former Wisconsin high school grads. Farr recorded three tackles and two pass break ups. He also recovered a fumble and returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown.

Jack Strand has been highlighted in this article and for good reason. The former Bloomer standout has been one of the top quarterbacks in all of Division 2, statistic wise. Strand threw for 290 yards and two scores in Minnesota State-Moorhead's 35-7 win over University of Mary. Strand finished the regular season second in all of Division 2 with 3,914 passing yards, third with 36 passing touchdowns, and eighth with a 67.3% completion percentage. Defensively for the Dragons, Kennan Stowers of New Richmond had a team high 11 tackles, one for loss, a pass break and also an interception.

Southwest Minnesota State finished off it's 2023 campaign with a 28-10 win over Sioux Falls. Donald Austin saved his best performance for last for the Mustangs. The SJNMA alum carried the ball 31 times for 184 yards and three touchdowns. Austin earned his first ever Northern Sun Offensive Player of the Week award for his bell-cow rushing performance. For Sioux Falls Brendan Holt of West Salem had six tackles and a sack while Sussex Hamilton's Cal Botsford had five tackles, a sack and a force fumble.

In a Northern Sun, GLIAC crossover game between Northern State and Northern Michigan, a Badger State standouts excelled for each team. For Northern State, Pulaski grad Jake Adams had a game high 17 tackles, one fumble recovery and one interception for Northern State in its 44-20 win. For the Wildcats, Cedar Grove-Belgium alum Sam Peiffer had six catches for 91 yards and a score.

In the final season of the regular season, the WIAC had a trio of games that had playoff implications.

UW-La Crosse took care of UW-Stevens Point 41-7 to win the WIAC crown and earn the automatic bid in the Division 3 bracket. For the Eagles, Keyser Helterbrand of Hudson threw for 222 yards and had four total touchdowns. Marshfield grad Wyatt LeMoine had two touchdown catches while both Gage Boegli of Brodhead and Marko Rajkovic of Franklin found the end zone. Defensively Christian Powell of the University School had three sacks and a forced fumble while Wrightstown's Jared Pelishek had an interception. Noah Glazebrook of Union Grove, Ty Severson of Evansville and Tate Milton of Notre Dame all had a solo sack. La Crosse will play Minnesota-Morris in the opening round of the Division 3 football playoffs.

UW-Whitewater shut out UW-Eau Claire 59-0 and secured an at-large bid into the Division 3 playoff field. Madison Memorial grad Jason Ceniti threw for 116 yards and two scores while Menomonee Falls grad Tamir Thomas carried the ball seven times for 191 yards and three scores. Stoughton's Darrick Hill carried the ball ten times for 80 yards and a score while Port Washington grad Patrick Lippe hauled in a touchdown as well. The Warhawks will take on Bethel University in the first round of the Division 3 playoffs on Saturday.

UW-River Falls had a hot start to this season and looked prime to make the Division 3 playoffs. However, they slipped late in the season culminating in a 38-31 loss to UW-Oshkosh and a missing of the playoffs. The Titans quarterback Kobe Berghammer threw for 254 yards and two scores. He added a rushing touchdown en route to being named the WIAC Offensive Player of the Week. Kicker Nolan Mobley was perfect for Oshkosh, going five of five on PATs and one of one on field goals. Mobley, an Oak Creek grad was named the WIAC Special Teams Player of the Week. Justice Lovelace of Kenosha Indian Trail, Trae Tetzlaff of Waukesha West and Dan Fynaardt of Catholic Memorial all scored offensive touchdowns while Kyle Dietzen of Omro returned a fumble 65 yards for a defensive score. 

Dubuque College finished its season with a resounding 42-10 win over Luther College. A trio of alumni were playmakers on the Spartans stifling defense. CJ Dean of Madison East had a team high eight tackles. Lodi's Ben Rashid had five tackles, including two for loss, and two and a half sacks while Sauk Prairie's Garrett Hertzfeldt had five tackles and two for loss.

Like Dubuque, Ripon College finished its season on a high note, defeating Lawrence University 55-34. Wausau West grad Jack Berens accumulated 279 total yards and four scores while Ashwaubenon grad Connor Ramage rushed for 169 yards and three scores. Treston Dekker of Sheboygan South and DeMarcus Conner of Belleville both found the end zone for the Red Hawks. Defensively, Mayville's Zane Vetter had a team high twelve tackles and a sack. Argyle's Clay Ritschard had ten tackles while Valder's Fletcher Dallas had nine tackles and two interceptions.

Lastly, Lakeland University eked out a 35-34 win over Eureka College behind a game winning pass from quarterback Robby Michael. The Sheboygan Lutheran grad tossed the winning score with 23 seconds left in the game, capping off a game where he threw for 315 yards and four touchdowns and added 105 yards and one score on the ground. Wisconsin Lutheran grad Devon Harris hauled in six catches for 84 yards and a score. Defensively, Charles Kobe of Nicolet had a team high ten tackles.