12/16/2016 football Edit

Ethan Cesarz is preferred walk-on commit No. 8 for the Badgers

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.

Ethan Cesarz has held a preferred walk-on opportunity from Wisconsin since the spring.

Friday night, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound in-state linebacker from Delavan-Darien High School was ready to become a Badger.

"I believe the walk-on offer came last spring, but I really got into detail about it this August," Cesarz told BadgerBlitz.com. "What made Wisconsin the right place is the fact that it's my home and it's the place I've always dreamed of playing.

"Coach (Andrew) Marlatt (recruiting director) was the first person I talked to and he sounded pretty excited. He said he'd pass on the good news. I also called coach (Chris) Haering and he also sounded the same."

Cesarz, who had 132 total tackles and one interception this past fall, is expected to start at inside linebacker for the Badgers.

"Inside is all we've talked about," said Cesarz, who chose Wisconsin over the same opportunity at Iowa State. "Coach (Justin) Wilcox said he likes me there.

"It feels great to have my decision made. I don't have to constantly worry about what I'm doing after I graduate and I know I've made the right choice. The fan base at Wisconsin is a huge thing that stood out to me. Also the opportunities that I know I'll have in the classroom. The beautiful campus always made me want to live there."

The Southern Lakes Conference Defensive Player of the Year this past fall, Cesarz helped his team to a 6-5 record in 2016.

"My senior season definitely went better than I expected," Cesarz said. "We won a playoff game and I received first-team all-state on defense and honorable mention on offense. My favorite was getting conference player of the year on defense. It was a year to remember for me."

Wisconsin currently has 15 scholarship commitments in the 2017 class, in addition to eight preferred walk-ons. Cesarz joins quarterback Danny Vanden Boom, defensive lineman Matt Henningsen, linebacker Jake Collinsworth, running back Hunter Johnson, kicker Collin Larsh, defensive lineman Michael Balistreri and wide receiver Sam DeLany in the latter category.