MADISON (WKOW) -- The UW football team kicks off its season one week from Saturday, but there are a few names you won't see on the roster.
Quarterback Joey Brennan is transferring to Towson University in Maryland, and receiver Manasseh Garner is headed to the University of Pittsburgh, where he will play for former UW offensive coordinator Paul Chryst.
The rest of the Badgers continue to prepare for the season opener against Northern Iowa, led by senior running back Montee Ball.
There was some question whether Ball would be voted captain in light of all the undesirable attention this offseason. He was attacked by five men on Aug. 1 walking home from a downtown Madison bar and involved in a police investigation linking that attack to a previous altercation involving UW football players. Police do not believe Ball was involved in the earlier fight.
Sure enough, Ball is one of this year's captains, a sign his teammates are behind him after everything that has happened.
"My support for him never wavered in anything that happened and I think that's the general feeling throughout the team," junior center Travis Frederick said of Ball. "I think if you asked anybody, we all believe what he's telling us. I don't think he's lying to us at all. He's a guy that just comes out and works, and I think he's going to continue to work through those issues and is really a better person because of those issues."
The Badgers kick off their season against Northern Iowa on Sept. 1 at Camp Randall Stadium.
