Head coach Luke Fickell often is not the one first to know when a player commits to Wisconsin.
That, however, wasn't the case on Tuesday, when in-state linebacker Landon Gauthier added his name to the Badgers' 2024 recruiting class during an unofficial visit.
"I told the coaches during the visit that I needed to talk to Coach Fickell," Gauthier told BadgerBlitz.com. "So I think they were waiting in anticipation for me to come back out.
"So I told Coach Fickell first, and he was happy because he said he's never the first one to know. After I talked to Coach Fickell, I walked out and said, 'I'm a Badger, boys!' They went crazy and it was a great moment. It really is a dream come true. I went to Wisconsin games as a kid and I never imagined that I would be where I am today."
Gauthier, a three-star junior from Bay Port High School, chose UW over offers from Minnesota, North Dakota State, Ohio, Stanford, Syracuse and Wyoming. In the end, it ultimately came down to the Cardinal, who feature former Wisconsin staff members Bobby April, Mark D'Onofrio and Ross Kolodziej, and the Badgers.
"Obviously it's close to home and it feels like home for me," Gauthier said. "It was really between Stanford and Wisconsin, and the relationships and connections I had with the coaches was huge. I really love the coaches at Wisconsin and the opportunity to play in front of my family and friends.
"I had a great visit to Stanford but I knew I was leaning more towards Wisconsin."
Gauthier, 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, is commit No. 6 for the Badgers in the current cycle. He picked up an offer from first-year defensive coordinator Mike Tressel in January.
"They've (Wisconsin) been pretty aggressive with their recruiting," Gauthier said. "They've been calling a lot and staying in touch quite a bit. They've been all over me. Today (Tuesday), just getting to see the guys practice was big for me. I got to see them in action and how things are really done at Wisconsin. I loved the pace of practice and seeing how Coach Tressel coached. I love everything about it.
"My relationship with Coach Tressel is great and I love the guy. I can't say there's anything that I don't like about him. He's energetic and I love his coaching style. He loves my size, length and how I can move as a linebacker. They think that I would be a great fit and almost like a Swiss army knife for the defense."
As a junior, Gauthier had 87 tackles, 3.5 sacks and one interception for the 13-1 Pirates. He plans to take his official visit to UW the weekend of June 3.
"I know Rob (Booker) pretty well and me and a bunch of those commits will be on campus the first weekend in June," Gauthier said. "So for the kids who aren't committed we're going to work on getting them to join us."
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