After missing last seven games in 2021, Wisconsin tight end Hayden Rucci returned for opener vs. Illinois State and produced
MADISON – As the list of games lost to injury grew week by week, so did Hayden Rucci’s frustration.
“It just sucked because my injury wasn’t something that needed surgery,” Wisconsin’s redshirt junior tight end said.
Rucci made it through the first six games of last season unscathed before suffering a Lisfranc sprain in his left foot.
Teammate Isaac Guerendo missed the final nine games of last season after suffering a Lisfranc fracture. Rucci’s injury cost him UW’s final seven games.
“Mine was one step below Isaac’s,” Rucci explained.
Rucci, who redshirted in 2019 and played in six games in 2020, is comfortable talking about the injury and lengthy rehab because he made it back to the field for the opener Saturday against Illinois State.
Known primarily for his blocking, Rucci threw a key block on Braelon Allen’s 96-yard touchdown run. Lined up next to right tackle Riley Mahlman, Rucci engaged defensive end Braydon Deming at the 5 and drove him off the line to the 10 to help clear a path for Allen.
“I just latched onto him and didn’t let go until I saw Braelon streaking down the field,” Rucci said. “That is my M.O. That is what I go into a game thinking.”
More revealing is that Rucci had catches of 13 and 14 yards. Both came on second down and both resulted in first downs.
“I think they might have lost me in coverage,” Rucci joked.
Rucci chuckled because those were his first and second catches, respectively, at UW.
"Credit to him for the work he has put in," head coach Paul Chryst said. "I think he is, like lot a lot of our guys, they need to be in those situations. They've got to able to deliver in the passing game as much as in the run game."
After suffering the injury last season, Rucci’s thoughts weren’t on run-blocking or finding soft spots in opponents’ coverage schemes.
His focus was on daily rehab, which didn’t go well at first.
“I had to do rehab every day for my foot,” he said. “It was weird with no surgery. I wondered: ‘Am I really making progress here?’
“It looked normal. Everything looked fine. It didn’t swell or bruise that much, but I just couldn’t run or put any weight on it.”
As a result, Rucci had to wear a protective boot for several weeks while watching games from the sideline and wondering when he would be back in uniform.
When he wasn’t doing rehab, he spent time at practice trying to remain at least mentally invested in the team and the season.
“If you isolate yourself, you just drive yourself insane,” he explained. “I was trying to watch and see everything I could on the field and let the guys who were playing know what was coming what the defenses were running. I was just trying to help out as much as I can.”
Quarterback Graham Mertz, who has roomed with Rucci for three-plus years, got a look behind the scenes.
“We’ve had a lot of talks about that and a lot of guys go through that,” he said of missing so much time because of injury. “The biggest thing that I’m so proud about him is that he had one of those injuries where you can’t see it. That is definitely frustrating. That messes with your head a little bit.
“But he is a fighter and he made it through it. It was good to see him get back on the field.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Badgers tight end Hayden Rucci returns from 2021 injury
