West, who grew up an avid Badgers fan is now playing – and thriving – on his childhood team.
Written by: Jacob Szczap
With his back facing the student section and the Wisconsin Badgers in a 4th-and-19 situation in the midst of a blowout, Sean West fielded a high snap standing on his own two-yard line. He gathered the football, lifted it to punt it and then did the unthinkable. With an open field to his right, 33 yards from his feet to the first-down marker, and an entire stadium expecting a punt, West took off running.
West made the call to run himself, and he had no idea how much yardage he had to gain, figuring it was a 4th-and-5. But as he took off, he had almost the entire field fooled, and sprinted unbothered for 25 yards.
Ohio State safe-man Leroy Roker III, the one player who didn’t take West’s bait, closed in on him at the 27 yard-line, but West was able to shake off the tackle, made another Ohio State player miss, and stumbled his way to a first down.
The uncalled fake punt was the Badgers’ only positive moment of the game, making it the most memorable and is indicative of West’s role in Wisconsin’s season as a whole — a bright spot shining through a year that had its fair share of struggles.
Fast forward a couple months, the Badgers finished the season 4-8, their worst mark in 35 years. There were low points, like losing to Maryland at home, and then getting bludgeoned to two consecutive shutouts by Iowa and Ohio State. But players like West — young, successful and hungry, show that there is reason to believe that Wisconsin’s fortunes can turn around.
West, who comes from in-state Mequon, brings the passion of a kid that spent a childhood dreaming of playing for the Badgers. Head coach Luke Fickell described him as a player, “that is dying to be here.”
He was raised a Badgers fan, and regularly attended games with his family at Camp Randall throughout his childhood. “I always wanted to go to Madison, it was my number one dream school,” West told the Cardinal. “I had pictures of Wisconsin football in my room as a kid.”
Throughout his youth, he had always been a good athlete, excelling in soccer, hockey, and lacrosse, in addition to football. In middle school football, he played a variety of positions, including quarterback, defensive end and linebacker, but he made the most impact with his leg.
“From playing soccer when I was a kid, I knew I had a decent leg,” West recalled. “So I kind of just went and tried out for kicker.”
He, and others, soon discovered his leg was more than decent.
“Nobody would expect a middle school kid to be able to kick the ball that far,” Drake Zortman, West’s head football coach at Homestead High School, told the Cardinal. “He would kick off, and then the (opposing) team would have to turn around and run backwards to get it.”
West progressed through the youth ranks, and by his sophomore year, he was named Homestead’s starting kicker and punter, where he initially struggled.
In his junior season, however, things changed. West went four-for-four on field goals, and was quickly making a name for himself in the state’s prep kicking circles.
“He did nothing but get better,” Zortman said.
Realizing his potential, West devoted the summer following his junior year to perfecting the craft of kicking. He started traveling throughout the country to participate in kicking and punting camps, where he developed skills and began gaining notice from college recruiters.
Still, West operated largely from under the radar. Heading into his senior season, he had received interest only from Division II and III schools. By the end of his season, it looked like if West wanted to play high-level college football, it would have to be over 15 hours from home, as Wyoming was the only Division I school to offer interest.
But two nights before he was set to fly out to Laramie for a visit, Wisconsin special teams analyst Spencer Rymiszewski gave West a follow on Twitter and invited him to Camp Randall for a game visit that weekend. Although he had had the Wyoming trip planned for weeks, West exuberantly accepted Rymiszewski’s invitation.
“I was kind of freaking out,” West said.
In a drastic change of events, West was suddenly being recruited by his childhood team. But after the visit, months went by without West hearing any more word from Madison. He eventually contacted Wisconsin punter Gavin Lahm, who told West that Rymiszewski had accepted a position at Kent State. From there, West got back in touch with Wisconsin. He went on an unofficial visit in April 2023, and days later, when offered by assistant special teams coordinator Eric Raisbeck, West committed on the spot.
As the reality that West had fulfilled a childhood dream set in, West also immediately realized that he would have to double down on the same principles that brought him to Wisconsin — hard work and a commitment to excellence.
West spent his freshman season in Madison buried in Wisconsin’s special teams depth chart, and struggled with the adaptation to a smaller role on a team.
“When you come to college as an athlete, you have dreams of beating people out and playing your first year,” West said. “But last year, I didn’t have a great year, punting wise.”
While he didn’t see the playing field, being a part of a program he grew up idealizing lit a match to a deep desire for success that was already fueled.
“I remember just going down the hallways, (seeing), the legends that have played here, like JJ Watt, all those guys,” West said. “I was always so jealous of them, and wanted to be like them.”
Heading into this season, his redshirt freshman year, West didn’t expect to play, with emphasis on continuing to improve physically and mentally. But he had a great fall camp, found consistency in his punting and caught the eyes of the coaching staff.
His progress continued throughout the season, and with the Badgers reeling in mid-October, West was told he was going to receive some in-game action. His first appearance came in the aforementioned Ohio State game.
“I was shaking quite a bit,” West said. “Being on the field for the first time didn’t feel real at all.”
After his first punt though, he settled in nicely, and found enough confidence to pull off the fake punt, a play most players wouldn’t dare execute on their own. West became a beacon of hope for Wisconsin fans, and became a crucial part in the rest of Wisconsin’s season.
He took three punts in Wisconsin’s next game against Oregon, and a week later at home vs then No. 21 Washington, etched his name further into the college football zeitgeist.
Trailing 10-3 in the third quarter, West completed his second fake punt in his first three games as a Badger. The playcall was planned this time, but West almost missed the call.
The Badgers thought they could exploit Washington’s punt coverage, and called a play that featured West pulling back on the punt and passing the ball. But West wasn’t sure if he heard the playcall correctly, and had to yell out to Aaron Witt to double-check. At the last moment, Witt confirmed the fake.
West then found tight end Jackson Acker wide open in the middle of the field for a 24-yard first down completion. The play brought an energy to Camp Randall that would eventually carry Wisconsin to its first Big Ten victory of the year, and the first ranked win of the Fickell era.
On a snowy afternoon where running the ball took priority, West, with his 24 passing yards finished the game as Wisconsin’s leading passer, drawing national attention.
Though West introduced himself with the stunning dash against Ohio State, and told the college football world he was sticking around with his play against Washington, it has been more than just his knack trickery that propelled him to becoming Wisconsin’s first punting option.
In his six games, West has been good for 47.7 yards per punt, 11th best in college football. He had 14 punts that travelled 50 or more yards.
“Sean has just shown us over and over again on a consistent basis that he’s got a really, really good leg,” Fickell said.
With fellow punter Atticus Bertrams announcing he has entered the transfer portal, West appears to be heading into next season as Wisconsin’s starting punter. It marks a continuation of the upward trajectory West has been on since his days as an athletic middle-schooler known for his leg.
West remembers looking out at the Camp Randall field a few years ago, telling his sisters how badly he wanted to play on it. Now, he’s in the position he envied, and while ecstatic about it, he’s not close to being satisfied.
“I want to be considered one of the greats, one of the best to come out of Badger football,” West said.
With his rapid journey from fan to foundational player, West’s story may evoke a sort of underdog tale. But his sheet talent, paired with unwavering commitment to his craft, and the place he grew up dreaming of, point to his rise being more steadfast than improbable.
Leave a Reply