Setting: A nondescript Saturday in Madison. Game Day.
A full house is rocking Camp Randall stadium. Brooks Bollinger takes the snap from center, drops back, and hands the ball off to the fullback. The raucous Camp Randall crowd erupts in a deafening chorus of ?” BOOO!!!”
Wait a minute — that doesn’t sound right. The Badger faithful booing one of their very own? A closer look at the ball carrier reveals that the crowd’s reaction is not one of displeasure, but rather, a 70,000-person-strong shout-out to one of the workhorses of the Badger offense.
“KUUUHNS!!!”
The initial time Chad Kuhns heard the Camp Randall stadium crowd shout his name in unison, he was understandably confused.
“The first time they did it, a couple of years ago, I wasn’t sure what they were saying,” Kuhns recalls. “I thought they were booing me because we didn’t give the ball to Ron [Dayne] or something.”
Kuhns quickly realized that those chants are not boos, but rather cheers intended for him, and he has come to see them as a measure of appreciation by the Badger fans.
“It’s exciting,” Kuhns said. “It’s a good feeling to know somebody notices the fullback that hardly ever gets the ball.”
Over the past four seasons, Kuhns has been paving the way to rushing records and Big Ten championships, to Rose Bowl victories and a Heisman Trophy. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound fullback has done everything the Badgers have required of him in the trenches, taking on 250-pound linebackers and 300-pound defensive lineman with equal aplomb.
Kuhns, who may be the hardest hitter on the Wisconsin roster, has been one of the most effective and dominant run blockers in the Big Ten over the past four years. So effective, in fact, it’s possible that without him, no one would have ever heard of Ron Dayne or Michael Bennett, but Kuhns would never let you know that.
“I just try to help out the best I can, be the best I can,” Kuhns said. “I just tried to open up the holes for [Bennett and Dayne]. It gives me a great sense of accomplishment to have been lucky enough to block for them.”
Kuhns was able to soak in the results of his hard work when eventual Heisman winner Ron Dayne broke the all-time NCAA rushing record against Iowa in 1999. This was a game in which he contributed to the offense in more ways than one, delivering crushing blocks as well as catching three passes for 39 yards and a touchdown.
“When Dayne broke the record, that was probably my best football moment,” Kuhns said. “Just being able to lead block for him, and I also had a touchdown and a few catches that game. Just the whole atmosphere of that day was great, with everyone there to see Ron break the record, and to be able to help him achieve that goal was a great feeling and a great memory.”
In his final year as a Badger, Kuhns has been charged with an added responsibility: help tutor his younger brother Russ in the ways of a fullback. Russ, who was previously a linebacker and played on special teams, was switched to fullback this season and has benefited from the invaluable tutelage that only a brother can provide.
“Chad helped a lot with me picking up the position,” Russ said. “As great of a coach as [offensive coordinator] Brian White is, he just doesn’t say things like your brother can say it. With the help of him and Coach White, I picked it up pretty quickly. Chad was right there the whole time, helping with the little things.”
Kuhns’ role as a leader of the team is not limited to helping in his brother’s development. He was named a team captain by his teammates during the preseason, a reflection of the respect the entire Badger squad has for the senior.
“He’s definitely a leader by example,” Russ Kuhns said. “He goes hard all the time, plays hurt, fights through a lot of things, and he’s a tough guy. He’s really the definition of a Wisconsin Badger, and people look up to that.”
Part being a Wisconsin Badger is playing selflessly, as preached by head coach Barry Alvarez, and Kuhns has certainly done that this season. He has seen both his carries and receptions drop this year, figures which may be a result of the new spread offense the Badgers have employed this season, which has taken some of the focus away from the short passing game Kuhns would be involved in.
In his first three seasons, Kuhns averaged 10 carries, eight receptions, and nearly two touchdowns per year. This season he has only recorded two catches and one carry, with no touchdowns.
But Kuhns has no qualms with his role in the offense.
“We’ve been running the plays and I’ve been covered, but sometimes that’s just the way it goes,” Kuhns said. “I might not be getting as many touches as I did before, but you got to do what you got to do.”
For the past four years, Chad Kuhns has been doing whatever the Badgers have asked of him. Even though his number of touches has gone down this season, there is no doubt that the next time he gets the ball in Camp Randall, the Badger fans will let him hear it once again, and this time the fullback will surely know what they are saying.
They’re saying ‘KUHNS!’
