Running back Montee Ball was attacked this summer by three University of Wisconsin students that have been charged in attack on Badgers’ running back, according to police.
Wendell Venerable, Robert Wilks and Deonte Wilson appeared in Dane County Circuit Court on Monday where a judge continued their signature bonds. A criminal complaint says Ball was kicked and punched Aug. 1 as he walked back toward his dorm room in Madison. The complaint says a friend interrupted the attack when she threw herself over Ball on the ground.
Prosecutors say witnesses identified the three men, all 21, by looking at surveillance video from a nearby apartment building. WKOW-TV Wisconsin reports witnesses told investigators they heard the attackers say they planned to target football players in retaliation for a previous fight at a party when one of them was hurt.
Ball, who suffered a concussion from the alleged incident, insists he was not a part of the original fight.
While Ball has not missed any time on the field, he certainly has been less than he was last year as the Badger’s star running back.
After a 2011 season where he rushed for 1,923 at 6.3 yards per carry and tied Barry Sanders single-season touchdown record at 39, Ball entered this year with legitimate Heisman trophy hopes.
However, his 2012 is not going nearly as well as last season. In his three games he hast racked up 320 yards, and his highest yards per carry for any one game this year is 4.1. Those are credible numbers, but not Heisman numbers.
He also had only 61 yards on 15 carries in Wisconsin’s 10-7 loss to Oregon State.
While these numbers are far off the pace from last year, it is just as likely that the prodigious drop in production is related to Wisconsin being a shell of the team they fielded last year, and their offensive line has certainly not been as dominant as it is from anything related to the alleged incident.
