Remembering Former Wisconsin Badgers and B1G 10 Great RB Brent Moss

By: Melo Williams 

Former Wisconsin Badgers running back Brent Moss, who led the team to a Big Ten title in 1994, died on Sunday. He was 50 years old.

A cause of death was not provided as of Monday morning.

As a little boy growing up in the state of Wisconsin almost every kid that had dreams of being a running back wanted to run the ball like Brent Moss. He was iconic in Wisconsin. Brent was special, he reminded me of Barry Sanders. Great vision, patient, and explosive hitting the hole. It became very common to hear TOUCHDOWN by Brent Moss at Camp Randall on Saturday afternoons. If you attend Badgers’ game on Saturday afternoons, Brent Moss is largely the reason for the Sea of Red walking on Regent St.

Moss started the great RB tradition in Madison helping it become running back U. Brent Moss was probably a huge reason why former Badger great and Heisman winner, Ron Dayne and other great high school running backs choose Wisconsin for their college careers. Moss was very instrumental in helping former Badgers coach Barry Alvarez jump-start his career as coach of the Badgers. You really can’t talk Badgers’ football history and not mention Brent Moss or you wouldn’t be giving the authentic history of Badgers football.

At Racine Park High School in Racine, Wisconsin, where he played football for three years (1986-1989) Brent Moss rushed for more than 5,000 yards.

As a junior in HS at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, on November 12, 1988, Moss ran for 202 yards and three touchdowns during the Division I Wisconsin WIAA State Football Championship Game. Wisconsin’s top divisional football team, the Racine Park Panthers, defeated the Superior Spartans 34–14 and won the state championship.

The game’s MVP, Moss also earned a spot on the first team of the State (WIAA).

From 1991 to 1994, Moss played for the Badgers football team and helped coach Barry Alvarez turn around the program. When UW won the Big Ten and the Rose Bowl in Alvarez’s fourth season, Moss was the team’s top rusher.

During the 1993-94 season, Moss led the Badgers to the Big Ten title and their first Rose Bowl berth since 1963 against UCLA. During the game, Moss rushed for 158 yards and scored two touchdowns in the 21-6 victory. Moss was named the Rose Bowl MVP.

During the regular season, Moss totaled 1,673 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 312 carries. Moss was named the B1G Player of the Year for the 1993-94 season.

Caron Butler, a fellow Racine native and Park High School graduate who played 16 seasons in the NBA, eulogized Moss in a Facebook post on Sunday evening.

“Rest In Peace & Power Brent,” Butler wrote. “You made me believe that you could accomplish anything from the 262. #RoseBowlMVP”

Moss’s former backfield teammate Terrell Fletcher another one of Wisconsin’s great running backs shared his thoughts on the passing of Moss on his Twitter account.

“We did a thing in our day,” Fletcher tweeted Sunday. “I hate that we did not become friends in time (to) appreciate our magic. But we did work it out in time. You were one of the best to ever do it. Respect.”

RIP Brent Moss…
We did a thing in our day. I hate that we did not become friends in time appreciate our magic. But we did work it out in time. You were one of the best to ever do it. Respect.#RIP #RosebowlMVP#RBU #OnWisconsin #teammates pic.twitter.com/MT1PALz86A

— Terrell Fletcher (@terrellfletcher) November 14, 2022

Moss still ranks ninth on UW’s all-time rushing list with 3,428 career yards, and he holds the school record with 17 consecutive games with 100 or more rushing yards. Moss and Terrell Fletcher formed a tandem in the Badgers backfield that powered the 1993 and 1994 teams to an 18-4-2 record in those seasons.

Additionally, Moss had a short stint in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, St. Louis Rams, and briefly with the Green Bay Packers.

Brent Moss will forever be a Wisconsin sports legend. Rest In Peace Brent!