Mark Tauscher (; born June 17, 1977) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who spent his entire 11-year career as an offensive tackle for the

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of the

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(NFL). He played

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for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

. Tauscher was selected by the Packers in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL draft. He won Super Bowl XLV with them over the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. He now provides studio commentary for NFL coverage on

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in Britain.

Early life

While attending Auburndale High School ( Auburndale, Wisconsin), Tauscher won three varsity letters in football and baseball along with two varsity letters in basketball, and went to state for basketball in 1992–93. In football, he was a two-time All-Conference honoree, while earning Honorable Mention All-State and team MVP honors as a senior. In basketball, he won All-Conference honors. He was also a member of the National FFA Organization.

College career

Tauscher made the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

team as a walk-on in 1995. After seeing little action his first two years, Tauscher earned a letter in 1998 and became a starter at right tackle the following year. He contributed significantly as a blocker to Ron Dayne's

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

-winning season in 1999. He considered not returning for his 5th year.

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

During the 2000

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, Tauscher was selected by the Packers in the seventh round with the 224th choice overall. He became a starter early in his rookie season, when long-time starter Earl Dotson suffered a back injury at Buffalo. During the second game of the 2002 season, Tauscher suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament and a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

. As a result, he underwent surgery and missed the rest of the season. He made a successful comeback, however, and started every game since his return in 2003. However, his streak would come to an end during the 13th game of the 2008 season vs the

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. Tauscher suffered a torn

and missed the remaining three games of the season. After the 2008 season was over, Tauscher became an unrestricted free agent. Tauscher worked out for the Kansas City Chiefs but the Packers eventually re-signed him four games into the 2009 season due to the Packers offensive line struggling to protect quarterback

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears foo ...

. He became a free agent after the season again, but re-signed with the Packers on March 14, 2010. Tauscher started at Right Tackle in the Packers' first four games of the 2010 season until he suffered a shoulder injury in a Week 4 matchup against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on November 12, 2010. Tauscher was named Packers' 2008 Walter Payton Man of the Year and voted Packers' 2008 Ed Block Courage Award winner. He was released by the team on July 29, 2011. Tauscher was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame on July 21, 2018.

Sports broadcasting

Tauscher provides commentary and analysis on both the Wisconsin Badgers football radio network and the

radio network. He co-hosts Wilde & Tausch, a Packers centric sports talk show with Jason (Jay Bird)Wilde and appears twice weekly on

WKTI WKTI (94.5 FM broadcasting, FM) – branded 94.5 ESPN Milwaukee – is a commercial Sports radio, sports radio station licensed to Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Owned by Good Karma Brands, WKTI is a ...

radio in Milwaukee during the football season.

Personal life

Tauscher founded the Trifecta Foundation which stands for Tauscher's Reading Initiative For Every Child to Achieve. He states that he found reading to be very challenging as a young child and credits a third grade teacher and a Pizza Hut "Book It" program with helping build his confidence. Tauscher married Sarah Helgeson, in early 2009. The couple resides in

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin Sun Prairie is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 35,967 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous suburb of Madison, Wisconsin, Madison and is part of the Madison metropolitan area. ...

. Tauscher plays USTA tennis for the Madison Area League Tennis (MALT) division.

References

External links

Green Bay Packers bio

Mark Tauscher's foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tauscher, Mark 1977 births Living people People from Marshfield, Wisconsin Players of American football from Wisconsin American football offensive tackles Wisconsin Badgers football players Green Bay Packers players Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame