Follow Up WIth DL Recruit Andre Williams

As the Badger coaching staff studied videotape of one of their top tight end prospects, Steve Buches of Pittsburgh's Central Catholic High School, another unknown recruit immediately caught their eye.

Andre Williams, a 6-1, 285-pound noseguard, was making plays all over the field, despite being regularly double-teamed and sometimes triple-teamed. The staff contacted Central Catholic Coach Art Walker to find out more.

They discovered while Williams had started for three seasons and was regarded as one of the top players in the area, he had very little attention from Div. I-A coaches. Toledo, Kent State, Hoftstra and Villanova were hot on his trail, but very few major powerhouses even knew who he was.

The Badgers immediately set up a meeting with Williams in Pittsburgh, and offered him an official visit. And while Williams planned to make other visits before making his decision, he told the Badger coaches he was committing before he left campus.

"He decided right there, that's where he wanted to go," Walker said. "He came back and told everybody else how much he enjoyed it, how he felt really comfortable."

Walker was a little relieved when the Badgers confirmed what he knew - Williams has the potential to be a solid run-stopper in big-time college football. He was a star in Central Catholic's 50 defense, making plays from sideline-to-sideline, while adding starting offensive line responsibilities to his resume last season.

But while Buches racked in 12-14 major offers before the season even began, Williams was regularly overlooked.

"A lot of people weren't up on his height, and that's frustrating for coaches," Walker said. "So often, they are measured by prototypes they are putting together at all of these positions. But I knew he would end up somewhere. And I knew whoever took a chance on him was getting a pretty good player."

Walker said he is friendly with the staff at West Allegheny High School, the alma mater of Ben Herbert, and word has spread throughout the state that Herbert couldn't be happier in Madison.

And Walker feels good about the fact Wisconsin knows exactly what they want to do with Williams. They would like him to eventually step into the noseguard position, perhaps in 1-2 seasons.

"Wisconsin is a good fit for him, because he just feels really comfortable in the middle," Walker said. "He's going to obviously have to learn things are going to be more complex defensively and I think he'll need that redshirt year under his belt to learn some things and get himself into better shape and catch up with the way guys are in college. After that year, it's really up to him how much he wants to push it. He'll compete if he gets in the right frame of mind with it, and I think after a year or two, he'll be pushing to be in that defensive lineup."