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By Raymond Rivard
August 10, 2017
Mark Tauscher was the definition of hard work and overcoming the odds.
The former Green Bay Packer who was one of the best ever to wear #65 for the Green and Gold, was a fan favorite throughout his career and was well-liked by the media. In fact, Tauscher has gone on to his own broadcasting career in retirement.
To top it off, Mark Tauscher was a homegrown product of Wisconsin, attended UW-Madison and continues to live in his home state.
As part of our numbers countdown, we stop today at #65, a number that has been worn by Tauscher, as well as Ron Hallstorm, Mike Douglass, and current player Lane Taylor.
In high school at Auburndale, Tauscher was the hard working farm boy who took his talents to the fields and courts around central Wisconsin while excelling in football and basketball.
He was all-conference twice, an honorable mention all-state selection and team MVP as a senior while playing football.
But with no scholarship offered to Tauscher, he was a walk-on at UW-Madison.
He didn’t play his first two years, but made inroads as a junior and senior on the Badgers’ heralded offensive line. He was part of the unit that blocked for Ron Dayne during his Heisman Trophy-winning season.
Like his pre-college days when he didn’t attract much attention, Mark Tauscher was relatively ignored as a pro football prospect.
But it was the Packers who pulled the trigger on him in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL Draft, selecting him with the 224th overall pick.
Right tackle Earl Dotson, an injury-prone lineman late in his career, was hurt early in 2000, and the hungry Tauscher, a rookie, was thrown to the wolves as the starting right tackle assigned to help protect Brett Favre and to open holes for the running game.
He would stay at the position for the next 11 years, playing in 134 games for the Packers and earning a Super Bowl ring in 2010, despite his final years being injury-riddled.
His final season would be that 2010 championship year. Though he began that year as the starter, he dropped out after the first four games – one of many starters who went down that year.
Ironically, that’s when another rookie, Bryan Bulaga, took over the right tackle position.
Mark Tauscher retired after that 2010 season.
Though Mark Tauscher came from the depths as a college player and again while playing as a pro, he proved that hard work and dedication were what he needed to make an impact.
His career is a testament to his devotion to the game.
He was by far one of the best of those who have worn #65 for the Green Bay Packers.
