Reggie Pearson, a first-team all-state selection in Michigan as a sophomore, received an offer from Wisconsin this May and committed in late August, roughly 18 months before he’ll be able to sign a letter of intent with the Badgers.

While the quickness of his recruitment process may surprise some, it speaks to the type of person Pearson is, according to River Rouge head coach Corey Parker.

“We really try and do things differently because what we see going on right now in college football, I don’t necessarily agree with it,” Parker told BadgerBlitz.com. “I’m going to teach my kids how to handle this process a little bit better, because kids with 45 or 50 offers – you can only go to one school. For us, it’s about having a clear understanding that this isn’t a game. You’re handcuffing coaches, to a certain extent, and maybe even hurting another student athlete by sitting on all these offers or having a school thinking you’re going to commit when that school is really just another number for you. A lot of kids are interested in dating; no one is really interested in getting married.

“So I’m teaching them the total opposite and letting them know you’re going to have $100,000 of an education paid for, and a lot of these kids are missing out on that piece of it. For us, it was just about a comfort with Wisconsin and being able to identify a fit athletically and academically. For some people they might identify it as fast with two years left to go but with the way things are, you want to know the coaches you’re getting involved with. And with Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin, he’s always going to make sure he has the right man as the head football coach with the same common goal.

“We’re not one of those programs and he’s not one of those guys who is going to say, 'Oh, let’s wait on Michigan and Michigan State to see what they’re going to do.' It was about finding the right fit and Reggie did that with our high school and he did that with Wisconsin. He was able to identify the best place for him and his family to be.”