‘Great family environment’ led 2022 WR Tommy McIntosh to Wisconsin

Wisconsin's hot week of recruiting continued on Wednesday evening as Tommy McIntosh announced his commitment to the Badgers. As one could imagine, the 2022 projected wide receiver stated "it feels great" after arriving at his decision.

"It's been a long recruiting process starting last June around this time, actually, and so to go the last year of my life doing the recruiting process, it's been a lot of fun," McIntosh told BadgerBlitz.com on Wednesday evening. "It's been a blessing for sure. When I started playing football, I had dreams of playing at the next level, and then for these dreams just to come to reality, it's just so surreal."

McIntosh, a three-star recruit from Dewitt, Mich., held 25 offers, according to Rivals.com. His top group consisted of Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa, and Texas, in addition to UW.

Though McIntosh took to social media midweek to publicly announce his next home in his football journey, the nearly 6-foot-5, 205-pound recruit had his mind made up days earlier. He told wide receivers coach Alvis Whitted on Sunday morning while driving to the Madison airport after his official visit.

"When I was leaving, I knew that I wanted to come back for my college career, and that was when I just really decided that it was time," McIntosh said.

The thoughts about committing to Wisconsin started on the second day of that visit, McIntosh recalled. He believed he could see himself at UW, and on that last morning in town, he made his decision and informed Whitted.

Wisconsin "just invited me in with open arms," according to McIntosh, and that was a reason why he decided to become a Badger,

"It felt right. I just kind of knew," McIntosh said. "The first night we got there and just talking with the coaches and meeting with the other recruits, it felt like somewhere that I would want to be for the next four years."

McIntosh took official visits to Indiana and Wisconsin in June while also making an unofficial trip to Iowa a couple of weeks ago.

During his time in Madison, second-year wide receiver Chimere Dike hosted McIntosh. One of the highlights during his time in town included the family-like feel.

"I mean every single coach on staff is genuine and cares about their players," McIntosh said. "It was obvious on the visit that they truly cared about the players there, and they have a great family environment. It's just somewhere where I want to be."

McIntosh is the sixth-known oral commit in Wisconsin's 2022 class, and the first projected wide receiver in this recruiting cycle. He joins quarterback Myles Burkett, offensive lineman Barrett Nelson, tight end J.T. Seagreaves, athlete Cade Yacamelli and cornerback A'Khoury Lyde.

Whitted and McIntosh have built up a relationship since last winter, months before UW offered in mid-March. Contact continued to be constant between both sides after that opportunity was presented, and when he came to UW, they "just hit it off," according to the rising prep senior.

Though some programs looked at him at a different position, McIntosh said that Wisconsin sees him as an outside wide receiver, giving Whitted a tall prospect to mold and develop for the offense once he arrives in Madison.

"That was also a big decision that I had to make because there were some schools that were talking about tight end, but Wisconsin was saying just receiver,” McIntosh said. “I felt that I could make more of an impact at the receiver position, and that's kind of where I can see myself.

"They see me as a big receiver on the outside that they can move into the slot and just cause mismatches in the secondary."

Now with his commitment to Wisconsin, McIntosh's summer plans have opened up considerably. He told BadgerBlitz.com that he canceled the rest of his visits for the summer, which included an official to a prominent Big 12 program.

"I was gonna go to Texas this weekend on an official, but I decided that it kind of would have been a waste of time because I already knew my decision."