Besides Garret Dooley's expanded role as a full-time starting outside linebacker — he started twice last season for an injured Vince Biegel — the fifth-year senior has a different look.
When he rolls up his sleeves to go to work — figuratively, in concert with so many of the industrious, blue-collar players on the roster — you literally can't help but notice the ink on his left arm.
"It's definitely new," he confirmed of his tattoos. "I got most of it done in March and finished it up in May. My dad was a little shocked at first when I said was going full sleeve. But he got behind it."
Since the tats are more personal than cosmetic, Dooley has reproduced a version of his father's military dog tags from war service to go along with an Irish heritage symbol on his triceps.
The overriding image on his arm is an anchor flanked by his family's initials.
"That stands for strength and stability," he said. "That's us as a whole."
Photo: Wisconsin Badgers
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