Eddie Faulkner knows a thing thing or two about the Wisconsin football program.

Faulkner, who played running back for Wisconsin for four years from 1996 to 2000, is looking forward to coaching against his alma matter this Saturday.

The former Badger running back talked with the Northern Star about his playing career, what he brings to the table as a coach and memorable times he had with one college football’s all time greats.

Northern Star: What was it like playing under the now legendary Barry Alvarez when you were at Wisconsin?

Eddie Faulkner: Playing under Coach Alvarez, he’s very structured and organized; he knew exactly what needed to go on. He was smart in how he did things. He knew how to take care of the players at the right times. The way he organized things and demanded attention to detail from everyone is what I learned and took away from my experience with him and is what I hope to impart upon our players here.

NS: Is there something that Coach Alvarez ever said to you, or the team all the time, like a word, philosophy or phrase that you still use today?

EF: Oh there were quite a few. One that I always think about that he said all the time is “Don’t Flinch.” I think he even wrote a book called “Don’t Flinch.” His thought to that was that we’re going to keep hammering away at it and grinding, and eventually as a team we’re going to win the battle in the trenches. He also applied this in life. Don’t flinch when things happen to you. That’s one thing he said that I took with me wherever I went, but that’s just one of many that he said that stuck with me. It’s kind of like when you’re getting raised by your parents, and they say the same thing. My dad used to say that to me when I was little, and then my coach said it to me, so when I became a coach, it was just one of those things that really stuck with me. Coach Alvarez did a great job of instilling that attitude in his players.

NS: How would you describe your former teammate Ron Dayne?

EF: I would say he is funny. He is laid back – great football player. There are a lot of other words I probably shouldn’t use when I talk about him, if you know what I mean, but he’s just a good guy. It was great having him there and being around him while I was there. We were friends from the moment when we met each other, and we decided to be roommates when we got to Wisconsin, and we’ve been friends ever since. He was in my wedding, all of those kinds of things. He’s a great guy. I can’t say enough about him.

NS: Who was the best athlete you ever played with?

EF: I mean, Ron Dayne of course was great, he won the most accolades out of a lot of the guys that I’ve played with, but there were I a lot of guys that I played with who were equally as talented. I played with cornerback Jamar Fletcher, who won the Jim Thorpe Award for being the nation’s best defensive back in 2000. I played with guys who played in the NFL like running back Michael Bennett, defensive back Mike Echols, defensive tackle Wendell Bryant, offensive tackle Aaron Gibson, offensive tackle Chris McIntosh, and center Casey Rabach.

There were a lot of talented guys that I played with, but I would have to say that the best athlete that I have ever played with would have to be wide receiver Chris Chambers. He was a freaky athlete when it came to the measurables that he had. We had great players there, yeah, but we had better people, and I was fortunate to be able to play and be around all of them.

NS: What knowledge or techniques have you learned in your field over time at your position that you can pass on to the young running backs here at NIU?

EF: I think starting at Wisconsin in particular, they drill so much in the fundamentals that it just sticks with you, and I was able to retain that knowledge and pass it along. They taught you how to run, block, tackle, throw and catch. All of those things were instilled in us as players at Wisconsin, and if you’re trying to be the best football coach you can be, as I am, then those things are going to stick with you as you rise through the ranks.

NS: In your career at Wisconsin, you played in two Rose Bowls. Do you ever have players come up to you and ask you what it’s like to play in the Rose Bowl, and if so, what do you tell them?

EF: Yes, I do have players come up to me and ask me that, a lot of it being because the Big Ten Network airs the 1999 Rose Bowl game all the time, which I was a part of. I don’t know what the infatuation is with that game, but players from here at NIU or at Ball State or elsewhere in my coaching career have came up to me and said, “Hey coach I saw you on TV,” and they’d joke around with me, saying “you should have done this or that” during the game, but there is a certain amount of respect they have for me just because I did have that experience. I tell them that once the ball is kicked off in those types of games, after that, it’s just football. It’s a bigger stage, but you’re playing between the lines, and I tell them that you don’t really understand the impact of the game until you get older – until you reach my age – and not to take it for granted because they will come to realize that not too many people will be able to say that they experienced something like that.

NS: You played professionally in the NFL and in Canada. What do you tell players when they ask you what they need to do to reach the pros?

EF: I tell them that they have to answer the bell. Whenever they get the opportunity to show what they can do, they have to do it. I had to back up a Heisman Trophy winner, Ron Dayne, when I played in college, so there weren’t a whole lot of opportunities for me. When those opportunities came, I had to capitalize on them. I tell them you don’t know when the opportunity will come for you when you can showcase your skills, but when it does come, answer the bell.