Better Know a Badger: Clay Cundiff

Wisconsin's 2019 signing class will be moving up to Madison in June, so BadgerBlitz.com reached out to the newest members of the UW roster to get their thoughts as they prepare to start their college careers.

Clay Cundiff, a three-star tight end from Wichita, Kan., spoke with BadgerBlitz.com about what he's looking forward to about getting up to Wisconsin after flipping his commitment from Kansas earlier in the recruiting cycle.

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RB Julius Davis | CB James Williams | TE Hayden Rucci | CB Dean Engram | OL Joe Tippmann | DE Gio Paez | DT Keeanu Benton | OLB Skyler Meyers | S Titus Toler | FB Quan Easterling

Does it seem real to you now that you're just a few days away from joining the Badgers and starting your college career? What are you looking forward to the most?

Clay Cundiff: One thing I’m looking forward to is just being around all of the guys, especially in this incoming class. I think we’ve all grown closer together. We’ve all stayed in touch and stuff. I’m also excited to just get up to Madison. The city is a fun place and I’m just excited to get up there.

You mentioned how tight-knit the 2019 recruits were - did that play a role in your decision to flip your commitment from Kansas to Wisconsin? How has that relationship developed over time?

Clay Cundiff: On my official visit up there, seeing all of the commits - they were all up there at the time. They seemed like they had all been friends for a long time and they were all getting along good. When I committed they accepted me right in. They’re a really good group of guys and they are fun to be around.

What else did you like about Wisconsin that made you want to commit to them?

Clay Cundiff: I think … Wisconsin uses the tight end really well and kind of how I played it in high school with the blocking and the pass game as well. I think that was a big factor, just kind of watching their games and seeing how I would fit - and I think I will fit in pretty well.

Have they talked with you at all about what kind of role they think you'll have as a tight end in their offense? They seem to have a variety of guys who can excel at blocking or pass catching or even do both.

Clay Cundiff: I think they’re expecting me to do both roles. I feel really comfortable doing that and I’ve been doing that for the last four years and I’ve gotten better at it. I can obviously improve a lot still though.

Are there any tight ends in the game right now who you look up to or watch to see if there's anything you can adapt to your game?

Clay Cundiff: When I was watching (Jake Ferguson) last year I was really impressed with his game at the college level. At the NFL I’m not really sure - it’s a bit of a different position there.

What else are you excited about when it comes to starting your college career?

Clay Cundiff: I’m really excited to start school. It seems weird to say, but it’s just about going off on my own. I’m really to go out and learn and do things on my own. I’m also going to try and get involved in as much stuff as I can when I get there.

Do you have any ideas about what you want to study or what you think you're going to major in?

Clay Cundiff: I want to go in to business real estate.

I'm guessing the Badgers talked about their business school a lot when they were recruiting you then, right?

Clay Cundiff: Yeah I definitely heard about their business program. That was definitely an eye-opener, seeing how successful that program has been when I was being recruited.

Did you enjoy being recruited? Was that something you liked - getting to meet so many new people? Or was it just one more thing to juggle between school and football?

Clay Cundiff: I enjoyed the process, especially at the beginning in freshman and sophomore year when you start getting letters and taking visits. You feel pretty cool. But once you get up to junior and senior year it’s kind of different - it’s time to pick somewhere to go, and you can’t really mess around anymore. I really did enjoy it.

Do you remember when it was that you realized that playing a Division 1 sport was what you wanted to do?

Clay Cundiff: Football has always been my favorite sport. I just knew I wanted to play a sport in college. But I think in seventh or eighth grade, that was when I really started to like football more and start to think that I could play at the next level.

What gets you up in the morning to grind away at getting better at football?

Clay Cundiff: I definitely have a big love for the game of football. I started playing football in first grade. I think the one thing football has over the other sports is it’s just a physical game. You can out-physical the other guys. If you put your mind to it then you can do it.

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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.