Another Cowboys player with Wisconsin ties: Nick Hayden, former Badger & Arrowhead athlete

GREEN BAY (WITI) -- Burlington's Tony Romo is the biggest name with Wisconsin ties on the Dallas Cowboys football team -- but Nick Hayden has Wisconsin ties too. Hayden is a former Wisconsin Badger who starred in basketball and track as well as football at Hartland's Arrowhead High School.

Assistant Coach Jim LaVoi coached Hayden in football and track -- and Head Basketball Coach Craig Haase had a young Hayden on the hardwood.

"Just a great kid. Everybody loved him. I can remember specifically when he would come into the classroom in the class that I had him for, one special needs student that loved the Green Bay Packers and so every time, Nick would walk into the room and ask John, 'hey John, what happened with the Packers today?' And Nick would always have something to say to John. That's just the kind of kid that Nick was," Haase said.

"You got good players, you got great players and then you got special players. He sets that category right there as a special kid and a special player. His talent alone, his size -- he's just a beast. He just took games over by himself because of his size, his athletic ability and his drive. He had a severe passion for the game," LaVoi said.

"When the lights went out on the court, he could flat out play.  A lot of people didn't realize or maybe don't know that Nick Hayden was the Player of the Year in the Classic 8 Conference for us in 2003," Haase said.

"Hayden is a big, burly guy, but the two people he feared the most were his mother and Coach Taraska. He had a little leash, but Mom always dragged him back in, but they raised him to be the person he is today," LaVoi said.

Hayden is married with a child, and he's building a home near his high school Alma Mater.

Deep down, Coach LaVoi says Hayden will always be a Packers fan, with a job to do for the Cowboys on Sunday.

Kickoff is set for noon at Lambeau Field on Sunday, January 11th. You can watch the game on FOX6!