You want an example of perseverance? Look to Wisconsin linebacker Aaron Witt

MADISON – Aaron Witt’s fight to return to the football field after his first season at Wisconsin was lengthy, frustrating, physically demanding and, at times, mentally draining.

“There was a good year and a half I was struggling mentally,” the redshirt junior outside linebacker said Wednesday. “I’m not coming to college or doing any of this if it wasn’t for football. And then when it gets taken away from you, it is like, ‘What am I doing here?’"

Witt was forced to ask that question for far too long.

How much time passed between Witt’s fifth college game – the 2020 Duke’s Mayo Bowl – and his sixth game, the 2023 regular-season finale at Minnesota?

A mere 1,059 days.

Aaron Witt's lengthy time away from the football field began with a broken right foot in April 2021

That's nearly three full years, a journey that began when he broke his right foot in the first week of spring ball in 2021.

“Just an unbelievable amount of grit, just handling that much adversity,” Matt Mitchell, entering his second season as UW’s outside linebackers coach, said Wednesday. “It is somebody you can point to as a coach in how to handle adversity.

"Because he is very passionate about the game of football and it got taken away and it’s another life lesson about the attitude and gratitude for the opportunity that you have.”

During that lengthy absence from the field, Witt alternated between having surgery, riding a scooter to keep his right foot off the ground, hours of rehabilitation, transitioning from the scooter to only a walking boot more than once and usually standing on the sideline cheering for his teammates.

Witt explained that he underwent four surgeries – on his foot and right ankle – and also endured three stress fractures.

The first surgery came after the initial injury.

“Then that summer I was trying to get back for fall camp and earn a big role,” he said. “Then I broke it my first practice back and I also did a few other things to my ankle.”

The decision was made to eschew surgery this time and allow the bones to heal. Witt missed the 2021 season, but he was still having problems with the ankle in the spring of 2022.

“So we ended up having surgery on that again,” he said. “It was a pretty big surgery. Rehabbed it in the summer and right as I thought I was going to break through, I broke something else in my foot.”

As a result, he missed the 2022 season.

After more surgeries and more rehab, Witt set his goals on playing at some point last season, with a new coaching staff.

"I was lucky to be around special people, people that didn’t give up on me," Witt said. "They still trained me hard in the weight room when it looked like there wasn’t answers. They were still looking for solutions. ...

"My position coach really believed in me. I know the strength coaches really believed in me. At times, I didn’t see myself coming back. A lot of times. ...

“I was able to start walking a little bit last spring and this past summer I was able to jog again and was able to finally get cleared the week right before the Minnesota game.”

Aaron Witt made a triumphant return to the field last season at Minnesota, in his home state and in front of his family

The Minnesota game was Nov. 25 of last year. UW overcame an early deficit and recorded a 28-14 victory. Witt, from Winona, Minnesota, got a handful of plays with his family in the stands.

“Just jogging out on the field it was like: ‘This is what I dreamed of as a kid,’” Witt said. “It took me a while to get there. It was kind of surreal."

What made that day more emotional is that his mother, Jodi, was in the stands with the rest of the family. Jodi Witt was diagnosed with cancer about two years ago.

“She was going through that battle,” Aaron said. “For her to see me play meant a lot."

Did he ever wonder whether his mother might not see his return to the field?

“You don’t like to think that way,” he said, “but when you’re dealing with cancer there is always a thought there.”

Witt noted that his mother cut/styled hair when she was healthy. His father, Mark, ran a sandblasting business and currently works in construction.

Witt remembers getting up at 4:50 a.m. each day when he was in high school to get to the weight room before classes began. His father was already at work.

“It is just what you do,” Witt said. “You show up and go to work every day.”

That is why Witt kept showing up to rehab after the injures and surgeries and eventually made it back to the practice field late last season. He has been working with the No. 2 defense this spring and hopes to be a significant contributor in the fall.

Fellow outside linebacker Darryl Peterson, a redshirt junior, was asked if he ever wondered whether Witt would just give up his fight to return to the field.

“Am I surprised that he is still here?” Peterson asked. “No. He is a warrior, a fighter.

"That is Witt. I think he is going to reap all the fruits of his labor this year.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin linebacker Aaron Witt has had long battle back from injuries