Wisconsin's Montee Ball celebrates a touchdown run against UNLV during the first half of an NCAA college football game, in Madison, Wis.
By TODD RICHMOND, Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Five men attacked star Wisconsin running back Montee Ball near campus early Wednesday morning, inflicting head injuries bad enough to send him to the hospital, authorities said.
The men jumped Ball as he was walking down a street around 2:15 a.m., according to a police report. The men knocked Ball to the ground, kicked him and then ran off.
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Ball, a Heisman Trophy finalist last season as a junior, was taken to a hospital with head injuries, police said. Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said Ball was released and is now under the care of the school's sports medicine staff.
The Badgers open practice Monday and the season-opener at home is Sept. 1 against Northern Iowa. Bielema said his staff will evaluate Ball in the coming days but he expects the senior will make a full recovery.
A Wisconsin athletics spokesman and a police spokesman didn't immediately return telephone messages seeking more details.
Ball had a stellar junior season last year, scoring 39 touchdowns to tie Barry Sanders' NCAA record. He rushed for 164 yards and a touchdown in the Badgers' 45-38 loss to Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
He decided days after the bowl game to return for his senior season after NFL evaluators told him he would have likely been a third-round pick.
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Police issued Ball a trespassing ticket in May after he stepped unwanted onto a Madison porch during an annual end-of-the-year student street party.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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