1. Montee Ball played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers, twice earning consensus All-American honors.
52 Facts About Montee Ball
1. 2.
Until November 2015, Montee Ball held NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision records for the most career rushing touchdowns with 77 and the most career total touchdowns with 83.
3.
Montee Ball was selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft.
4.
Montee Ball was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2025.
5.
Montee Ball was ranked as the number 33 running back in the nation and fourth-best player in Missouri by Rivals.
6.
Montee Ball was named first-team all-state, all-metro, all-district and all-conference as a senior.
7.
Montee Ball was a team captain and team MVP as a sophomore, junior and senior.
8.
Montee Ball holds the Wentzville school district rushing records with career totals of 995 carries, 8,222 yards, 107 touchdowns, and an average of 8.26 yards per carry.
9.
Montee Ball was named to the all-academic list three times and was a two-time letterwinner in basketball.
10.
Montee Ball enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, where he played for the Wisconsin Badgers football team from 2009 to 2012.
11.
Montee Ball played in 12 games, including starts in the final four games.
12.
Montee Ball began the 2010 season as the backup running back to John Clay, the 2009 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.
13.
Montee Ball led the team in rushing touchdowns, ranked second in rushing attempts and scoring, third in rushing yards and all purpose yards and fourth in total offense.
14.
Montee Ball's 18 rushing touchdowns tied for fourth-most in a single season, his 6.11 yards per carry is sixth-best in one season at Wisconsin, and his 108 points tied for sixth-most in one season at Wisconsin.
15.
On November 5,2011, Montee Ball was named Big Ten Player of the Week after rushing for a career-high 223 yards against the Purdue Boilermakers.
16.
On November 12,2011, Montee Ball broke the single season Big Ten Conference record for touchdowns by rushing for two and receiving one against the Minnesota.
17.
Montee Ball had 27 touchdowns at the end of that game.
18.
On November 19,2011, against Illinois, Montee Ball ran for a career-high 224 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 38 carries.
19.
Montee Ball added a receiving touchdown and became the fifth player in NCAA Division I FBS history to score 30 touchdowns in a single season.
20.
On November 26,2011, Montee Ball scored four touchdowns against Penn State, and four more in the Big Ten Championship game one week later, giving Montee Ball 38 touchdowns on the season, which was second all-time in FBS.
21.
Montee Ball was one of three finalists for the 2011 Doak Walker Award joining Oregon's LaMichael James and Alabama's Trent Richardson.
22.
Montee Ball was named First-team All-Big Ten, by both the coaches and media, at the conclusion of the 2011 regular season.
23.
Montee Ball was the winner of two other Big Ten awards, the Graham-George Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year award and the Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year award, which was renamed in 2011 after Wisconsin's Alan Ameche and Ron Dayne.
24.
On December 5,2011, Montee Ball was named one of five finalists for the Heisman Trophy.
25.
Montee Ball was joined by Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu and Alabama running back Trent Richardson.
26.
Montee Ball was named an All-American by CBS, again joined by teammate Peter Konz.
27.
On December 8,2011, Montee Ball was named First-team All-American by Yahoo Sports.
28.
On December 10,2011, Montee Ball was one of five finalists for the Heisman Trophy.
29.
Montee Ball finished fourth in the voting, with 348 points.
30.
Montee Ball was joined by teammate Russell Wilson, who received votes.
31.
On January 2,2012, Montee Ball scored his 39th touchdown of the season, tying him with Barry Sanders for most touchdowns in a single FBS season.
32.
Montee Ball finished the season with 1,923 rushing yards, 33 rushing touchdowns, 24 receptions, 306 receiving yards, and six receiving touchdowns.
33.
On January 5,2012, Montee Ball announced he would return for his senior year with the Badgers rather than enter the 2012 NFL draft.
34.
On October 13,2012, Montee Ball scored three rushing touchdowns against Purdue, giving Montee Ball a career total of 72 touchdowns.
35.
Montee Ball ran for a career-high of 247 yards against the Boilermakers.
36.
On November 24,2012, Montee Ball became the FBS career record holder for total touchdowns when he scored his 79th touchdown on a 17-yard run against Penn State.
37.
On December 6,2012, Montee Ball won the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation's top running back.
38.
On January 1,2013, Montee Ball became the first player in Rose Bowl Game history to score a touchdown in three straight years.
39.
On June 5,2023, it was announced that Montee Ball will be inducted into the University of Wisconsin's Athletic Hall of Fame for the class of 2023.
40.
On June 5,2023, Montee Ball was announced as one of 78 FBS players to be selected for the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame ballot.
41.
Montee Ball was chosen in the second round with the 58th overall pick by the Denver Broncos in the 2013 NFL draft.
42.
On October 27,2013, Montee Ball scored his first career touchdown on a 4-yard run against the Washington Redskins.
43.
Montee Ball had another rushing touchdown against the Tennessee Titans that sealed the game for Denver.
44.
Montee Ball was placed on injured reserve on December 13,2014, finishing the 2014 season with 172 yards and one touchdown, which was scored in a Week 1 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
45.
Montee Ball showed up to a tryout with the Green Bay Packers 30 pounds overweight.
46.
On February 9,2016, Montee Ball was released by the Patriots following a domestic violence arrest.
47.
Montee Ball was assaulted in the early morning hours of August 1,2012, while walking on University Avenue in Madison.
48.
Montee Ball, like his father and grandfather, is a recovering alcoholic.
49.
Montee Ball began showing up drunk to practice as a junior in college and continued the habit in his professional career.
50.
Montee Ball's spiraling alcoholism and depression derailed his football career.
51.
Montee Ball has a son named Maverick who he credited with helping lift him from alcoholism and irresponsibility.
52.
Montee Ball is an Outreach Specialist for Wisconsin Voices of Recovery.