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Once the University of Wisconsin football team cleared out of the McClain Center after practices last season, you could often find Scott Tolzien preparing for his own workout.

The former Badgers quarterback and seven-year NFL vet last played for the Indianapolis Colts in 2017, and he knew he’d only wait so long for another chance to play at football’s highest level.

“Like most do, you kind of give it a year to see if the phone rings,” he said Tuesday before the Legends of Wisconsin Classic golf outing at University Ridge Golf Course. “I didn’t want to be that guy still working out three years from playing, trying to get back in the league.”

So, despite being drafted in the third round of the Alliance of American Football Quarterback Draft by the Birmingham Iron in November, Tolzien retired in order to move forward with the next chapter of his life.

This season, he’ll be an analyst for the Badgers, tasked with scouting opponents.

“This is a good way for me to get my feet wet (in coaching) and try it out and see where it goes from there,” he said. “I don’t want to predetermine anything. I just kind of want to see how it goes and work my hardest, try to be an asset as much as I can. At the end of the year I can go from there.”

Joe Thomas to be inducted into University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame Thomas won the Outland Trophy for the Badgers in 2006 before making 10 straight Pro Bowls for the Cleveland Browns.