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WATCH: Wisconsin OL Michael Deiter talks about his touchdown vs. Illinois

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

It wasn’t exactly the way anyone expected Wisconsin to score a touchdown against Illinois on Saturday, and maybe that’s why the moment was so awesome.

With four minutes left in the game and leading 17-3, the Badgers were looking to put an exclamation point on a B1G West victory over the Illini. That’s when Wisconsin dialed up a pass play, designed for offensive lineman Michael Deiter, to try and seal the win for Wisconsin. And it worked to absolute perfection.

Technically it was a lateral, but Deiter caught the pass and rumbled into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown to give the Badgers a 24-3 advantage in the final quarter. The play was amazing, the celebration was spectacular and Deiter’s post-game reaction was priceless.

“I’m not going to lie, I was really nervous,” Deiter said. “My legs were kinda turning to mush. Everything just kind of slows down and your focus just goes on following the football. It’s tough to play receiver, it wasn’t that easy.

“I’ve never had a ball thrown to me in my life, not in a game at least. I was nervous, but I had confidence in the play. I knew if I caught it there was no way I wasn’t getting in the end zone. It was the coolest thing ever.”

Deiter has played a lot of football, but that’s going to be something he’ll remember forever.

Here’s the play Wisconsin drew up for Deiter and his reaction to his first ever touchdown:

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB