Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said today that star H-back/tight end Travis Beckum will be fully available for Saturday's home showdown against No. 14 Ohio State (ABC, 8 p.m.).
That's good news for the 18th-ranked Badgers, who could use a boost in an offense plagued by dropped passes against Michigan.
Beckum has been a nonfactor so far this season because of a lingering hamstring injury, and his role in Saturday's stunning collapse at Michigan Stadium raised some questions. The senior spent most of the game on the sideline holding his helmet but was inserted after Wisconsin fell behind in the fourth quarter. Bielema said after the game that he didn't play Beckum earlier because the star had missed practice time last week.
But Monday, Bielema said Beckum had been cleared by the medical staff and that the decision to play was left up to the player.
"[At kickoff] he didn't feel comfortable," Bielema said. "At halftime we asked him again and he didn't feel comfortable. Then the competitive nature of Travis... he felt compelled to get out there and play."
I'm confused.
Who's decision was it to keep one of the Big Ten's best players off the field in what turned out to be a crushing loss for the Badgers? Bielema? Beckum? The training staff?
Here's Bielema's explanation. You tell me if you can figure it out.
"The first person to give clearance to our guys is the medical [staff]. And because of the history Travis has had over the last three or four weeks, they didn't want to push him beyond what he wanted to [do]... So the ultimate decision whether he was going to go on the field lied in Travis' hands.
"The medical people felt if Travis felt he could go we could let him go. As coaches, we were hesitant if he decided on Saturday that he could play because he had not gotten any [practice] reps. He had not [worked] full speed in practice.
"And for Travis to get out there and be effective on every play, he needs to practice... If he was on the field, any hesitation I would have as a head coach is that he did not practice and I wouldn't know how he would be able to play.
"That wouldn't prohibit him from being out there [but] it would cause concern."
Wisconsin's other tight end, Garrett Graham, is expected to practice Wednesday after missing the Michigan game with a foot injury. Graham leads the Badgers with 154 receiving yards and three touchdowns this season.
Adam Rittenberg joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four years at the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald, where he covered sports at Notre Dame, Northwestern, DePaul and several other colleges. He lives in Chicago.
