6/3/2019 football Edit

Camp offer leads to quick commitment for Cade McDonald

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.

An official commitment seemed like a mere formality after Cade McDonald picked up an offer from Wisconsin on Saturday after a strong camp performance.

But Monday, the 6-foot-6, 240-pound defensive end added his name to the Badgers' 2020 commit list. The standout from Hudson High School is pledge No. 8 for Wisconsin in the current cycle and the seventh prospect head coach Paul Chryst has landed from inside the state.

"Yeah, the Badgers is the way to go for me," McDonald told BadgerBlitz.com on Saturday. "I plan to commit very soon. Not an exact time, but sometime within this week."

McDonald, a multi-sport athlete, performed well against top tackle prospects Riley Mahlman and Jack Nelson, among others, in front of Chryst and position coach Inoke Breckterfield at camp.

"I think that I didn't do as well as I could’ve because of me playing two lacrosse games last night and the day before, so my numbers during testing were not as good as I would’ve liked," McDonald said Saturday. "But in the camp I feel like it went very well besides a few kinks, but that will happen. They were really impressed with my aggressive style in the trenches, as well as my coachability and attitude throughout camp.

"I also had the privilege to talk with Coach Chryst after the camp for about an hour and he said he was very impressed with me as a person as well. He seemed like an extremely down to earth guy and someone that would be awesome to play for."

Illinois State, North Dakota and South Dakota also offered McDonald during his recruitment. He is expected to visit officially the weekend of June 14.

"I love the campus and the coaching staff seems to be just as great," McDonald said. "Their facilities and school are outstanding in the field that I would like to study. And just overall, it has been my favorite college for a long while.

"The offer doesn’t feel real, honestly. It’s been a long-time dream and goal of mine and I couldn’t be more excited to go play college ball."

In addition to McDonald, the Badgers also have commitments from in-state prospects Trey Wedig (Kettle Moriane), Ben Barten (Stratford), Chimere Dike (Waukesha North), Cole Dakovich (Waukesha Catholic Memorial), Jack Nelson (Stoughton) and Tanor Bortolini (Kewaunee).