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With his four most recent predecessors at tight end currently playing in the National Football League, the Wisconsin football program has given Jacob Pedersen quite the lineage to live up to.

The St. Louis Rams drafted Lance Kendricks in April, while Garrett Graham has been a Houston Texan since 2010. Travis Beckum has been a New York Giant since 2009, and Owen Daniels has also been a Texan since 2006.

Pedersen, meanwhile, is just beginning his sophomore year of eligibility at the University of Wisconsin.

“I’ve got a lot of big shoes to fill,” Pedersen said. “Being able to watch them has taught me a lot. I’m trying to watch film on them every day, and just from watching Lance, watching Garrett, all those other tight ends, I’m trying to just put their skill sets into my own and try to make them a part of my game.”

Pedersen is Wisconsin’s starting tight end this year, and his quest to follow in the footsteps of the star Badgers before him is off to a robust start in 2011. Through the season’s first two games, Pedersen has already equaled his receptions total from 2010 (eight) and gained 100 yards and three touchdowns. Saturday against Oregon State, the Menominee, Mich., native caught a career-high six passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns in the Badgers’ 35-0 triumph.

Following the game, head coach Bret Bielema touted Pedersen’s performance – while simultaneously ratcheting up the level of expectation for the 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end.

“We’ve had a lot of good tight ends here,” Bielema said. “He might be the most complete player we’ve had at that position when it’s all said and done. He’s an Upper Peninsula boy who has been raised the right way, works his tail off and is pretty error free.”

After redshirting in 2009, Pedersen appeared in all 13 games and started four in 2010. He recorded eight catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns, though Badger fans likely remember one play Pedersen wasn’t able to make more than anything.

In the Rose Bowl Jan. 1, Pedersen was the intended target of quarterback Scott Tolzien’s pass on the two-point conversion attempt that would have tied Wisconsin with Texan Christian, 21-21, with two minutes remaining. But instead of having a chance to grab a fistful of roses, Pedersen was left empty-handed once TCU linebacker Tank Carder swatted Tolzien’s pass to the turf.

Flash forward to 2011, and the picture is incredibly brighter for UW. Quarterback Russell Wilson has arguably eclipsed even the wildest expectations of Badgers fans, throwing just seven incomplete passes and zero interceptions in his first two games in Madison. Pedersen seems to have already become one of Wilson’s favorite targets – he’s second in catches behind receiver Nick Toon, who has nine – which is hardly a surprise, regardless of who suits up at quarterback.

“I clicked with Jacob from the start,” Wilson said. “Just throwing in the summer and getting to know him – I’ve really gotten to know him pretty well.”

Though each starred at UW and has found varying levels of success in the NFL, the four most recent Badger tight ends before Pedersen found ways to distinguish themselves. Daniels, the most accomplished pro of the bunch after making the Pro Bowl in 2008, was capable of contributing both as a receiver and blocker, while Beckum mainly was a dangerous receiving threat. Graham and Kendricks each were balanced players, with Kendricks also at times being a dominant blocker.

As Pedersen continues his ascent to the levels of the four Badger tight ends before him, he has a valuable mentor to learn under in tight ends coach Joe Rudolph. A former Badger himself, Rudolph coached all of the tight ends but Daniels in his four years as a coach at UW.

“I would say Travis was probably the furthest along on the learning curve,” Rudolph said. “[Pedersen] was more of a receiver type when he started off. I like where he is based on his experience level and what he’s been able to show, but he’s got a long ways to go to kind of match some of those guys in some other areas. I like the way that he’s working, and he’s shown that he can be a very productive tight end.”

Productive as he was in the playing time he saw last year, this season has already presented Pedersen with a remarkable opportunity. Kendricks was a consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2010 after hauling in 43 passes for 663 yards and five touchdowns. The Rams selected him in the second round of April’s NFL Draft, leaving the Badgers’ tight end position wide, wide open for the taking.

“Last year, I kind of came into it and I told myself – I was going to be a redshirt freshman – I want to be a big special teams contributor,” Pedersen said. “I said, ‘This is the way you can definitely help the team out.’ Special teams opened it up for me, and I was able to start making some plays on offense and help us out.

“When that started to happen, and we knew Lance was going to be gone next year, I kind of took it upon myself. I said, ‘You’re going to need to step up. It can be your time.’ I just kind of went from there.”