The population in the town of Esko, Minn., which features junior standout Koi Perich, is roughly 2,200 people.

That's quite a bit more than the 117 residents located in Tony, Wis., the hometown of Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. But Perich, who visited UW unofficially for the first time earlier this month, made the small-town connection after an in-person conversation with Leonhard before the Badgers' contest against Washington State.