Mason Reiger, the Light at the End of the Tunnel
The Wisconsin edge rusher has had a long journey to the NFL — a journey long enough to draw parallels to a geopolitical crisis.
Mason Reiger’s second pinned post on Instagram is captioned “Day 281: My story.”
The minute-long video captures the Wisconsin edge rusher’s journey from a walk-on at Louisville in 2020 to an impact player with the Badgers, with the caption ending: “Let me be an example of light being at the end of the tunnel!!!”
In 2006, Tajikistan opened the Iranian-built Anzob Tunnel, constructed to connect the two largest cities in the country — Dushanbe, the nation’s capital, and Khujand. The two cities had been cut off from each other for most of the previous winter due to harsh conditions across the Hisar mountain range and the closure of the original path between the cities, built through Uzbekistan during the Soviet era. But it was part of the larger Tajik-Uzbek border tensions after the Soviet Union collapsed.
The tunnel was dangerous — until 2017, it was not paved, lit or ventilated, and it remains unclear whether or not it is ventilated as of this writing. Locals told stories of people dying of carbon monoxide poisoning due to traffic jams away from the only fan, located somewhere in the middle of the tunnel. Until the tunnel was closed in June 2015 for repairs and improvements, travelers had to sign a waiver acknowledging hazards such as flooding and smog inside the tunnel.
A 2007 article by David Trilling of Eurasianet notes water jetting from the sides of the rock walls and from ceiling stalactites, and reaffirms the tales of deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning. Trilling notes that “if falling rocks were the only problem, the tunnel would be in good shape.”
When the tunnel opened in 2006, however, Tajikistan Deputy Prime Minister Asadullo Gulomov said at the ceremony that President Emomali Rahmon had once stated the Tajiks would build the tunnel “with our hands and teeth” if they did not have the requisite equipment.
“Good intentions are half the battle,” Rahmon said, according to Gulomov.
Hands and Teeth
“The President of our Republic, Emomali Rahmon, trusting in the goodwill of the Tajik people and constantly preserving national unity, said back then that if we didn’t have the technology, we would dig this tunnel ‘with our hands and teeth.’”
Reiger begins the story of his six-year college career by saying that “it’s been quite a ride, and I’ve loved every bit of it.” A Division II prospect coming out of Conant High School in River Grove, Illinois, Reiger told Wide Left that “if I was going to play college football, I was going to play at the highest level. I didn’t want to look back one day when I’m 40, 50 years old with my kids and be like, ‘I wonder if I could have played at [the] Power 5 level.’”
Conant has produced four NFL players to date: 1984 UDFA wide receiver Tim Tyrrell, 1986 UDFA safety Creig Federico, 2004 UDFA quarterback Russ Michna and 2011 UDFA wide receiver Andre Holmes. None played major college football — Tyrrell played at Northern Illinois, Federico at Illinois State, Michna at Western Illinois and Holmes at Hillsdale.
Reiger came into Louisville knowing he was perceived to be a better fit for that lower caliber of school, telling Wide Left that “I saw some guys that play my position, play other positions, that I’m just like, ‘Wow, I am not ready for this level of football yet.’”
After two seasons and a third offseason program, the Illinois native found himself on scholarship at Louisville. His strong 2023 campaign, during which he had five sacks and a forced fumble, drew the attention of Wide Left draft analyst Devin Jackson:
A few of the reps highlighted by Jackson came in Louisville’s 2023 matchup against Notre Dame, which featured 2024 No. 5 overall pick Joe Alt at left tackle and second-rounder Blake Fisher at right tackle. Reiger had two sacks and a forced fumble in that game, a 33-20 upset win that proved to be one of the highlights of the Cardinals’ ACC Championship runner-up season.
“That was, on paper, my highest graded game of my career,” Reiger told Wide Left. “I think [that] goes hand in hand with that confidence, because at the time, I knew I was a good player, but I didn’t know how good I could really be and how I could take my game to the next level. A couple of those plays, I realized I could do this at a high level.”
Reiger missed the 2024 season after an offseason knee injury sidelined him for the year. By the time he suited up again, this time in Madison, in a different shade of red, the pass rusher had undergone six operations on the same right knee to get himself back into playing condition.
Louisville told Reiger to medically retire after the injury, but he wasn’t ready to give up on the chase just yet.
“At any given point, none of these players, me included, knows when our last snap of football is going to be. Having it taken away from me against my will just really puts it in perspective. Imagine your last play ever, and you weren’t giving 100% of your effort, and now you have to live with that for the rest of your life, the game that you say you loved,” Reiger told Wide Left. “I really do, I love football, since I was five years old, the first year I put pads on. For me to just have another opportunity to play, I’m going to give it everything I have, because one day when I don’t have football, I’m gonna look back and I’m gonna know that I was able to give everything that I have.”
Wisconsin took a flier on Reiger in the transfer portal after he decided to pursue other opportunities, but the Badgers still had to wait for their new pass rusher to undergo a few more cleanup procedures on his knee before they could see what he could do. Once they did, head coach Luke Fickell told Wisconsin media that Reiger was a player the coaching staff had to “save from himself” sometimes — he was so relentless in practice that Wisconsin was worried he’d overextend himself.
“I definitely can say it comes from my parents, two of the hardest-working people I know to date,” Reiger told Wide Left of his work ethic. “I always tell people I had the privilege of growing up in a two-parent household. [My older brother and I] always pushed each other, and now I’m doing the same thing for my younger brother as well, and just to have a support system like that that’s always demanding the most out of you and you to become the best version of yourself, I think that was just a little bit of the spark to what I was going to do.”
Wisconsin drew the best version out of him. Reiger logged another five sacks and 11 more total tackles than he had in 2023 during his senior season with the Badgers, despite a nearly 20-month layover between his last game at Louisville and his first game in Madison.
“[Wisconsin] absolutely [demanded] a leadership role from me, and also myself, demanding that from me as well, to just really maximize my abilities as a player. You go out there, and you’re more vocal, and you push other guys, “Reiger told Wide Left when asked how playing for the Badgers elevated his game.
“In turn, you feel that pressure on you, but pressure is a privilege, and to have that confidence in yourself, to be able to help other guys out, get them lined up, and know that you’ve prepared enough to be confident and comfortable in your role as well is something that’s pushed me. I believe that a confident player is a better player at the end of the day. You go through a series, and you’re playing with confidence, you get into that flow state, and you’re finding more success, you’re making more plays.”
