7/31/2016 football Edit

Badgers secure another in-state PWO in Merrill's Jake Collinsworth

Jon McNamara • BadgerBlitz

Editor

Jon McNamara is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has covered UW athletics since 2002 and has worked at Rivals.com since 2006.

Wisconsin continued its summer run on preferred walk-on commitments in the 2017 class Sunday when head coach Paul Chryst received a pledge from Jake Collinsworth.

A 6-foot-1, 230-pound linebacker from Merrill (WI) High School, Collinsworth visited Madison earlier this week unofficially and also camped with the Badgers in June.

"It was a great time," Collinsworth told BadgerBlitz.com. "They brought in a player panel of former walk-ons so we could get more information about what it meant to be one. It was awesome to tour and get to know the campus and the facilities Wisconsin has. It was clear that Wisconsin would provide me with the opportunities to be the best player I can be.

"I knew Wisconsin was the right place for me because the coaches made sure we knew walk-ons are not treated any different than scholarship kids. They give everybody the opportunity to work hard, and I feel like working hard is what I do best."

Collinsworth, who also had offers from Bemidji State and Minnesota-Duluth, joins quarterback Danny Vanden Boom, lineman Matt Henningsen and athlete Hunter Johnson as preferred walk-on commits for UW in the current cycle. The staff is also targeting running back Seth Wilson, linemen Josh Seltzner and Michael Balistreri and wide receiver Zach Clayton.

"It was clear that Wisconsin would give me the opportunities to be the best player I could possibly be," Collinsworth, who also holds a 4.0 GPA, said. "There has never been any doubt Wisconsin is where I want to go. I decided now because I want to put 100 percent of my focus on representing Merrill by being the best Bluejay I can be in my last season here.

"It feels really good to have my decision made. Coach (Justin) Wilcox met with me and gave me some things he would like me to work on. It will be great to work on those things and have the ability to apply them in games throughout the fall."

A first-team all-conference linebacker as a junior, Collinsworth also reported a 4.68-second 40-yard dash, 33-inch vertical jump, 435-pound squat, 310-pound hang clean and 305-pound bench press.