A local athlete lived his football dream with no regrets.
Davis Heinzen grew up in Manitowoc, cheering for the Wisconsin Badger football team every fall Saturday.
His dream was to someday was to wear the cardinal and white of his favorite college team and although it didn’t turn out quite the way he has expected it to.
Heinzen, after rewriting all the tight end receiving records at Manitowoc Lincoln High School, spent three years at Central Michigan University before having the opportunity to, in his words, “come home” and play his final year of eligibility with the Wisconsin Badgers in 2025.
He tells SeehaferNews.com that the season flew by and that it’s hard to believe that his collegiate career is over.
“I’ve been in and out of the facility the last couple of days for exit interviews and filling out paperwork,” he explained. “It’ll be weird not to be in the routine I’ve had every summer and fall ever since I can remember.”
Heinzen describes his immediate feelings when Wisconsin’s season ended last Saturday, losing 17-7 to Minnesota in the battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe.
He told us, “It was a bittersweet moment ending the year with a loss, but I’m proud to be a Badger, something I’ve wanted to be all my life. It went by in the blink of an eye.”
Bucky’s season began with two straight victories before losing six straight games. Besides playing the toughest schedule in the country, numerous season-ending injuries beset the Badgers, including losing starting center Jake Renfro.
Heinzen, who began the year at left tackle, transitioned to center, where he graded out quite well, especially in run-blocking schemes.
Wisconsin finally broke the streak, beating then 24th-ranked Washington on November 7th and then what Heinzen calls the highlight of his year, defeating then 21st-ranked Illinois 27-10 on November 21st in Madison on senior night.
“It was an awesome day,” he admitted. “Our offense played the best it had since the beginning of the year, and winning the game the way we did by running the football was extremely gratifying. Having my family and friends there and seeing the fans storm the field are memories that I’ll cherish for a lifetime. “
After taking some well-deserved time off to “chill and heal,” the Shipbuilders Alum says he’ll begin his trek to play professional football.
“The NFL is my plan moving forward,” he revealed. “Obviously, it’ll be difficult, and I do have my degree to fall back on. But I’m going to put everything into making my dream of playing in the National Football League a reality.”
If he were to go pro, he’d join the likes of Manitowoc County’s Don Davey, Doug Free, and Luke Goedeke, who is currently the starting right tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
We asked Davis if he had to do it all over again, if he would have done anything different.
“I spent three great years at Central Michigan and made a lot of great friends and memories, but I’ve got no regrets getting the chance to play for my dream team,” he said. “Despite the challenges we had to overcome, I wouldn’t trade my year playing at Wisconsin for anything. “
Davis will be our special guest on WOMT Sports Talk, Monday, December 22nd.
The show airs from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m. at Salute to Everyone, located at 1107 South 10th Street in Manitowoc.
