IRVING, Texas -- For all of the studying the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coaches will do on Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, they will not get to know him the way Travis Frederick does.
Frederick and Wilson were teammates at Wisconsin for a season and quickly formed a friendship.
Wilson has won a Super Bowl and has become a national pitchman, but Frederick still sees the guy from Wisconsin.
"When I first saw him, he was exactly who he is now," Frederick said. "When he came in, he did those things that he does now back at Wisconsin. That was one of the things that made us so good that year is that we had him. He's a really good player, super explosive, does a lot of good things and he's a really good leader. The best thing I can say about him, I totally respect him as a player and as a person, and from what I know of him, everything you hear about in the media and on TV, that really is the true guy. You have to respect somebody when they're like that."
While Frederick's selection in the first round in 2013 was a surprise to some, it wasn't to Wilson.
"His love for the game was pretty remarkable," Wilson said on a conference call Wednesday. "I remember when I got to Wisconsin, one of the first weeks I was there I was watching film all by myself and he came in there and started watching it with me. I just remember how hard of a worker he was. I had the opportunity to always lift with him. I would squat next to him. He's putting 700 pounds on the bar and I'm over there squatting 300. Maybe. Just to be around him was always a great thing. I'm really happy for him. To get to watch him play on Sunday will be a really exciting thing. I love the guy to death."