Richland Center running back Bradie Ewing, who will sign with the University of Wisconsin football team today as a preferred walk-on, has a pretty good role model for his career with the Badgers.

His mom is from Fennimore, which is the hometown of former Badgers receiver Luke Swan, and the two families know each other.

Swan is one of the Badgers' more impressive recent walk-on success stories.

"I've talked to Luke quite a bit," Ewing said Tuesday. "He's not only a great player, obviously, but a great person. He's one of my role models, for sure. Not only his walk-on success story, but the way he's dealt with things through his life."

Now, Ewing has a chance to follow the same path as Swan, who became the Badgers' No. 1 receiver before suffering a season-ending torn hamstring in his sixth game as a senior in 2007.

Ewing is a terrific all-around athlete and three-sport standout who also had an offer from coach Bo Ryan to walk on to the UW men's basketball team.

But football was first in Ewing's heart.

"It's always been a dream of mine," Ewing said of playing football at UW. "It's great to finally realize it's going to happen. I'm looking forward to getting to work and earning it."

Ewing, 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, ran for 2,116 yards and 24 touchdowns on 258 carries as a senior and was the Wisconsin State Journal's Small Schools Player of the Year. He has a 37-inch vertical jump and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.

The Badgers plan to start him at tailback and he will have a chance to earn a scholarship down the road. He also had a walk-on offer from Purdue and a scholarship offer from North Dakota, a Football Championship Subdivision program.

"I've always challenged myself," Ewing said of turning down the scholarship offer. "I guess everything I do, I kind of strive for the best I can. What better way to do that than to play Big Ten football?"

UW coach Bret Bielema made a strong push for Ewing in recent weeks. "I called coach Bielema and said, 'He's got this (scholarship) offer. If you think he can compete and you believe in his abilities, I know where Bradie wants to go,' " said David Ewing, who is Bradie's father.

"In the final analysis, coach Bielema's commitment to Bradie's potential and belief in him really sealed the deal."

Bradie Ewing rushed for 3,911 yards and 41 TDs in his prep career, while catching 40 passes for 655 yards and six TDs. He's been the Southwest Wisconsin Conference MVP in basketball the last two seasons and also is a sprinter and hurdler in track and field. He has a 3.7 grade-point average.

He talked to Bielema recently and was told the NCAA passed a rule that will allow him to be on campus this summer for team workouts, as long as he is enrolled in school.

"I'm really pumped about that and looking forward to that," Ewing said.