Bill Ferrario, 47, who played for the Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers, died Sept. 24 in Wausau.
Ferrario, a guard, was drafted in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL draft by the Packers and was on the active roster for the 2002 season. He was waived by the Packers the next season. He tried to catch on with Washington and Carolina, but was cut by both teams and retired in 2005.
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His birthday was Sept. 22. A cause of death was not available. The Scranton (Pa.) Times Tribune confirmed his passing.
While at the University of Wisconsin, Ferrario was a four-year starter, playing in all 50 games. According to the university, he was only the third Big 10 conference player to do that up to that time.
A two-time second-team all-conference selection, Ferrario played in Wisconsin’s 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowl victories. He was on the offensive line that blocked for Heisman Trophy winning running back Ron Dayne.
In a 2009 interview with the university, Ferrario said the thing he missed most about being a Badgers football player was “suiting up and going to battle on the field with my close friends.”
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After he retired, he lived in Wausau.
Ferrario was raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Large for his age, he played freshman football while in seventh grade, and was a 6-foot-3, 265-pound tackle his junior and senior years at West Scranton High School.
Ferrario had a number of legal issues in recent years involving sobriety and domestic disturbances.
More: Obituary: Bill Ferrario was a key piece of Wisconsin’s back-to-back Big Ten championship teams
Contact Richard Ryman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Bill Ferrario, who played for the Packers and Badgers, dies at 47
