Wisconsin strong safety Jay Valai, all of 5-foot-9 and 205 pounds, tries to exude toughness each time he steps onto the football field.
Like his Wisconsin teammates, the fifth-year senior can live with just about any criticism except being called soft.”It?s football, that tough-guy mentality,” Valai said Monday morning after UW opened its third and final week of preseason camp. “You don?t want to be looked at as soft.”
That fear is why Valai recently concealed a concussion from the coaches and medical staff. “I was wrong,” said Valai, who vowed to return to practice this week.