MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s history of developing walk-ons into key contributors caused John Torchio to take a leap of faith and pass up a scholarship offer from the hometown school he grew up following.
Torchio lived 10 minutes away from California’s campus and regularly attended Golden Bears home games. His father and grandfather played there. He even remembers former Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers visiting his house a couple of times during the reigning NFL MVP's college career.
That’s why so many of Torchio’s friends were surprised when he made his college choice.
“Everyone was like, ‘What the heck?