It's Tuesday and that means time for another edition of Badgers Power Hour LIVE at 8:30pm CT via Google Hangout on Air! This week we'll explore some of the more worriesome news that has broken about the UW secondary and talk a bit of recruiting information as well. 

However, the bulk of this show will be focused around our 2nd annual sit down with Phil Steele - the guru of all preview magazines out there. We'll pick his brain on all sorts of topics surrounding the Badgers and the Big Ten. SO ONCE AGAIN, TUNE IN LIVE AT 8:30PM CENTRAL FOR BADGERS POWER HOUR (LIVE video below): 

Finally, some good news on the recruiting trail. After the news earlier today that 2013 safety Donnell Vercher wasn't going to be a Badger after all thanks to some transcript snafu and the news of some other commitments going against the Badgers way for 2014, Tuesday was a good day after all. That's because reports indicate that highly touted 2015 Quarterback Austin Kafentzis has committed to Wisconsin during his time at camp this week. 

He is the first commitment of the class for Wisconsin and there couldn't be a better way to kick things off than that if you ask us. There is zero question this kid is an ELITE high school QB - as in he's got college skills and footwork as just a sophomore in high school elite. He passed for just over 3,000 yards and rushed for over 1,800 more with a crazy 58 total TD's to his name last season according to stats we were able to nail down - this guy is simply legit and here's the video proof:

Well, it's happened again... another gap in the jersey number countdown to the kick-off of the 2013 Wisconsin Badger football season. I know, dissappointing, right? After all, you usually find yourself checking the site in anticipation each day. Lord knows as we crawl under another milestone the itch to see these guys take the field grows stronger every day. 

Since we have no current player on the roster, we felt it right to honor one or two of the Badger greats to wear the numbers not taken as of yet on the roster. As such, today we honor Tom Burke... One of the defensive stalwarts of the mid-90's defensive lines. 

Burke's Story at Wisconsin:

- Burke had one of the single greatest season's of any Badger defensive player of all-time in 1998 - recording 22 sacks and 31 tackles for loss (the sacks are still a single season program record). 
- For that effort he was named a consensus All-American and the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year 
- Ended his career with 32 career sacks and 54 tackles for loss, ranking him 2nd and 3rd respectively at UW
-Played four seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals

History of No. 74 at Wisconsin:

This number has had some massive names behind in the past two decades as both Mark Tauscher and John Moffitt have worn it at Wisconsin. These two men shouldn't need any introductions at all as both went on to great NFL careers. 

Remember last week when I said it wasn't time to start worrying much with the transfer of Reggie Mitchell out of the program? Well, you can feel free to worry a TON now as there are multiple reports indicating that incoming JUCO transfer Donnell Vercher will not be incoming after all. 

It appears that there are issues with his transcripts (not grade related folks) at the Wisconsin admissions office and Vercher will instead by plying his football skills for the Fresno State Bulldogs instead of the Badgers. 

Um, ya.... Now it's safe to say UW's got issues at this position. Option No. 1 left town last week to head home to Pittsburgh, option No. 2 is now gone do to some technicality on the admissions side of things (rumor has it UW didn't like some of his core courses and thus he didn't have the credits to transfer). 

If you're a big time Badger football fan and a student at Wisconsin there can be no greater day than today... The day you can get season tickets. However, it can also be an excercise in frustration with the flood to the servers and the long wait times to figure out if your order went through. 

But, it never fails and in just over 160 minutes the undergad allotment of student season tickets were gone. 

Undergraduate @BadgerFootball student season tickets are sold out.Thank you for your support @UWMadison students!

— Wisconsin Athletics (@UWBadgersdotcom) June 17, 2013

So enjoy the games and we point you to a few suggestions to help make things even better in Camp Randall this fall. 

We're now down to 75 days left to the new era in Badger football. As we sit here on June 17th it's fair to say the anticipation is mounting - that and the frustration of students who couldn't get in to get season tickets. 

After reaching out to the past yesterday we return to the current roster and stay along the offensive line. That's right, we're just Zac Matthias away from the first ever game in the Andersen era. Could Matthias play a big role in the new era? Only fall camp will really tell us that information. 

Story So Far:

- Has seen action in every season so far at Wisconsin, playing 9 games in his freshman and sophomore season (most on special teams), and playing all 14 games this past season. He started 4 games at right guard last season.
- Academic All-Big Ten in 2010
- Matthias will be battling with Kyle Costigan once again to become the starter at right guard 

History of No. 75 at Wisconsin:

Chris McIntosh (OL, 1996-99): Outland Trophy finalist in 1999 as well as consensus 1st team All-American. He was a team captain in 1998 and 99. That 1999 O-Line helped lead the way for a school record 3,305 yards rushing on the season. 

Ray Snell (OL, 1977-79): Snell was one of the best O-Lineman the Badgers had in the 1970's, becoming a 1st team All-Big Ten and All-American selection in 1979. He was the 22nd overall pick in the 1980 draft, going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and played five seasons in the league. 

Well, since the newcomers don't have number assignments and the official roster is stuck on the spring numbers there is no one on the currently posted UW roster occupying No. 76. Kind of a big deal since we're counting down the roster and all, but alas... The good old way back machine helps us fill that void. 

So in honor of the history of No. 76 we declare today Bill Nagy to Badger football. 

Nagy's story at Wisconsin: 

- He played in a total of 29 games in his career, starting just 11 of them. He did start 8 games in his final season at UW, but was mainly due to injury in front of him. 
- Nagy was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the coaches in 2010, an academic All-Big Ten pick in 2007, and a preseason All-Big Ten pick by Phil Steele in 2009. 
- Nagy was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 7th round of the 2011 draft and became a starter before suffering a broken leg. 
- He currently plays for the Detroit Lions as a guard, moving from his original position at center and could be grooming under Dominic Raiola. 
- He is one of six members of the 2010 offensive line to be drafted into the NFL

After talking about offensive lineman for the past few days, we move ever closer... just 77 days away from the start of Badgers football and we also move to the other side of the ball today to talk about a defensive lineman for a change in the 70's. 

We're just Bryce Gilbert to kick-off!! So, let's dive into the story of Gilbert, who is stuck in a loaded position group to say the least, shall we? 

Story So Far:

- Had a career high 10 tackles last season
- Amazingly has never recorded any other defensive stats in his two seasons at Wisconsin
- Gilbert is majoring in history at Wisconsin.... which brings us to our next part in the series....

History of No. 77 at Wisconsin:

Wendell Bryant (DL, 1998-2001): Finished his career as a two time All-Big Ten 1st team pick and with 24 sacks. That ranks him 5th all time on the UW sack list. Bryant also ranks 9th all time in tackles for loss (41) and 7th in tfl yardage (181). His 5 sacks against Penn State in 2001 is still the 2nd highest single game total in program history. 

Antajj Hawthorne (DL, 2001-2004): Anything Bryant did Hawthorne nearly did better. He ranks ahead of Bryant in tackles for los (42.5) and had 23 tackles for loss in the 2003 season. 

Ahh, it's officially summer. Why? Well, those of us who cover the Badgers on a daily basis know it's summer because the athletics department and the Big Ten offices start handing out there end of the year awards. On Friday afternoon the Badgers did just that naming star running back Montee Ball as the Male Athlete of the Year and star softball pitcher Cassandra Darrah as the Female Athlete of the Year. 

For us here at MTB both were pretty slam dunk choices if you ask us. Sure, there were a ton of great performances across Wisconsin athletics, after all, we have been discussing just how historically good this season has been at the UW. But, in the end these two rose clear to the top rather easily. 

Ball of course, holds the all-time career TD's mark in FBS history with 83. He managed to lead the Big Ten in rushing with 1,830 yards, third best in the nation, on a team that struggled to get the ball rolling in the running game early on thanks to an offensive line coaching situation that wasn't working out. 

Thirty years is a long time period, but in today's fly by night, what have you done for me lately world of college athletics it is a feat of extraordinary proportions. Well, that's exactly what Wisconsin Men's Track & Field coach Ed Nuttycombe accomplished this season and after it's completion this past weekend Nuttycombe is calling it a career. 

“Ed’s career is unparalleled,” UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez said via statement from Wisconsin. “The success is obvious when you look at the numbers, but the way he succeeded with integrity and touched so many people across his program and his sport is what speaks volumes about the job he did as a head coach.

“To be able to adapt to all the changes in society and in student-athletes over the last 30 years while maintaining such a high level of success is truly remarkable.”

And boy, what a career it was. Over those 30 years he built Wisconsin into a track & field powerhouse, winning 26 conference championships. That's the most of any coach in conference history, regardless of sport. His most recent championship came this season as Wisconsin won the 2013 Big Ten indoor championship. They also won the 2012 outdoor title as well.