You bleed cardinal and white, but you didn’t see this one coming. How could you have?

Following the Badgers’ disappointing 7-6 campaign a season ago, it seemed as though head coach Bret Bielema had two options at quarterback for 2009.

He could go with fifth-year senior Dustin Sherer, the only current Badger with collegiate starting experience who took over for the ineffective Allan Evridge in UW’s sixth game last season under the bright lights of Camp Randall Stadium against eventual Big Ten champion Penn State.

But Sherer would be the fourth senior signal caller in as many years to start on opening day for Bielema’s bunch. How do you build a program with a quartet of one-and-dones at the most important position on the field?

The other option seemed to be Curt Phillips, the highly touted, dual-threat redshirt freshman from Tennessee. Badger Nation has been beckoning for him since Evridge’s demise. Plus, Phillips could be a four-year starter, something the Badgers haven’t seen since Brooks Bollinger left for the NFL following the 2003 season.

The Sherer-Phillips debate has hovered over Madison since UW’s embarrassing Champs Sports Bowl loss to Florida State in December. Most of us agreed that Sherer probably gave the Badgers the best chance to win in ’09, while Phillips could perhaps buy Bielema at least another year at the helm, for the redshirt freshman would provide hope for the future — no matter the eventual number of 2009 wins.

Few people even bothered to utter Scott Tolzien’s name. The redshirt junior seemed to be the round peg in the square hole.

Funny how some things work out.

Last week, Bielema made it official: Tolzien will be his starter. Again, how’d that happen?

Those present at fall camp may have noticed that Bielema seemed to be tapping into his fountain of youth, as Tolzien and Phillips took the majority of reps while Sherer primarily stood on the sidelines. It eventually became a two-horse race, with No. 16, the original dark horse, edging out the freshman by a nose.

“[Offensive coordinator Paul] Chryst preaches it all the time: ‘Don’t try to make too much of [the competition]. Don’t make it against Curt, don’t make it against Dustin, [freshman] Jon [Budmayr], whoever, just play your best football,'” Tolzien said. “I knew that if I worked hard, good things would come and my hard work would pay off.”

A true inspiration, indeed.

“There wasn’t one particular moment [that separated me], just a gradual buildup of confidence and being comfortable with my teammates and the system, the coaches,” Tolzien said. “As I got older, I became more comfortable, more confident.”

Although exciting, last week’s news hasn’t seemed to faze him.

“I try to lay low with it, try not to make a big deal of it,” he said. “I feel like I’m at my best when I’m just out there playing, having fun, just like I did when I was a kid playing youth ball.

“It was a dream of mine to be a Big Ten quarterback. But at the same time, I felt like I kind of prepared myself over the years to ultimately be the guy, so when the moment came, it wasn’t something out of the ordinary, something I hadn’t prepared myself for.”

His teammates aren’t surprised.

“I knew Scott was a guy that would never quit or throw in the towel, but he really did pull ahead [of the others],” said center John Moffitt, who also happens to be Tolzien’s roommate along with guard Bill Nagy. “I was really impressed with the way that he plays the game and the way he’s progressed in camp, keeping mistakes to a minimum.”

According to his teammates, Tolzien’s biggest assets are his football intelligence and his hard work.

“I always catch him reading his playbook,” Moffitt said. “He’ll do the work. He’s definitely intelligent, confident and mentally tough.”

“It seemed like he put in extra time,” wide receiver David Gilreath said. “I don’t watch film much, but every time I went up there, he was up there. His football IQ is up there. He always knows what’s going on and it shows out there. I don’t really know what it is, but he brings a little bit more than any of the other guys do right now.

“He looks real good. I’m confident in him being my quarterback.”

That’s probably most important. That, and his physical capabilities. Does he have the tangible tools to succeed under center in the Big Ten?

“I think his arm strength’s fine,” Moffitt said. “I think his accuracy is really good, too. I think he’s going to do the job.”

Of course, Tolzien hasn’t made a start in nearly four years, when he was completing passes for Fremd High School in Palatine, Ill. Will he be a bit rusty in Saturday’s opener against Northern Illinois? Perhaps. Nonetheless, the Scott Tolzien era has begun in Madison, as he’ll be the first non-senior to start on opening day since John Stocco in 2005.

Anything else we should know about you, Scott?

“I’m definitely competitive. I feel like I’m a tough player,” he said. “That’s another thing I bring to the table; it just hasn’t been unmasked yet.”

Not for long. The mask comes off tomorrow.

Derek is a former Herald sports editor and 2008 football beat writer. What do you think about Scott Tolzien? Let Derek know at [email protected].