Very few people knew about Ben Burr-Kirven until he led the Washington Huskies in tackles. And his own teammates didn't even recognize him at the team's first offseason meeting.
The linebacker, who led UW with 84 tackles last season, is known for his long-flowing golden hair and dark blonde beard. Or at least he was until he decided to get a haircut and a shave.
"We came back after the bowl game. We had a team meeting to go over grades," said Burr-Kirven, a two-time Academic All-Pac-12 first team member. "People didn't recognize me. They thought I was a team manager or something.