Clay Cundiff jumps at the chance to join Wisconsin's 2019 class
When Clay Cundiff visited Madison in November of 2017, the three-star tight end knew Wisconsin would be a top school if provided the opportunity.
Roughly one year after that initial trip, the three-star prospect from Bishop Carroll High School in Kansas is a member of the Badgers' 2019 class.
"Wisconsin has always been a school I wanted to go to," Cundiff, who committed to UW this past weekend during an official visit, told BadgerBlitz.com. "The academics are very strong and they have a great football program.
"When coach (Ted) Gilmore reached out to me last week I was really excited. I’m really glad I was able to go up there and how everything worked out.'
A 6-foot-4, 235-pound senior, Cundiff is Wisconsin's second tight end commit in the current class along with four-star Hayden Rucci. Both were on campus this weekend for UW's win over Nebraska.
"Coach Matt Miller was very good to my mother and I," Cundiff said. "He took us around campus and we got to the see the business school and the city. It’s all really beautiful and the coaches are all really good people. That’s what I want to be around for the next five years.
"When the coaches were watching my film they said the plays that we run at my high school are very similar to what they run in their offense. How I’m being used right now, it won’t be much different when I get to Wisconsin. They said that was a big factor and they like that I’m ahead of the game in terms of knowing a little bit about the offense."
Cundiff is the second prospect from Kansas on Wisconsin's commit list, along with highly-touted quarterback Graham Mertz. While in Madison, he was able to connect with a handful of other committed prospects, a group that included Spencer Lytle, ,Joe Tippmann, Logan Brown, Leo Chenal and Rucci.
"The only one I knew going in was Graham Mertz because we’ve been friends for a few years," Cundiff said. "But he introduced me to all the commits and they were all really good kids. They wanted me to be a part of what they have going on there and it felt like I had known them forever. They were very welcoming and it was really fun being with them. I was hosted by Tyler Beach, one of their offensive lineman. He was really cool and he made me feel at home. He was a great host and answered all my questions.
"It feels really good to have the next five years set up. I’m just ready to go win another state title this year with my teammates."
Cundiff's commitment to Wisconsin meant backing away from his previous pledge to Kansas. That decision, according to Cundiff, wasn't all that difficult.
"It wasn’t very hard," he said. "With Wisconsin being the school I always wanted to go to, it wasn’t very difficult."
The Badgers currently have 14 commitments in the 2019 class.