Cole Van Lanen has completed his journey as a Badger, revealing on social media Friday that he is leaving Madison for the 2021 NFL Draft.

That is not a big surprise to many fans. Van Lanen was a member of the 2016 recruiting class for Wisconsin and played four seasons from 2017-20 after redshirting his first year on campus.

Van Lanen’s goodbye means he will not take advantage of the extra year of eligibility handed out in the blanket waiver by the NCAA, but it is more than understandable as Van Lanen’s NFL stock should be plenty high. Here is his goodbye to the Badgers:

Van Lanen joined the Badgers as the No. 2 player out of Wisconsin for the 2016 class and No. 15 OT nationally. He definitely lived up to that billing during his college career.

Van Lanen appeared in 45 career games at Wisconsin and started all 13 games at left tackle for Jonathan Taylor and company in 2019. Best of luck to the star lineman as he moves to the next level!