4/24/2020 football Edit

In-state check-in: 2021 defensive back Mason Buehler

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.

The headliner on Muskego's defense is Wisconsin Badgers commit Hunter Wohler, the Associated Press state player of the year in 2019.

But his counterpart in the secondary, Mason Buehler, who had two interceptions in the WIAA Division 1 state title game last fall, has quietly racked up five scholarship offers this off-season.

Muskego defensive back Mason Buehler currently has five scholarship offers.

"I think we play great together," Buehler told BadgerBlitz.com. "I believe that we share similar traits, like game speed and athletic ability. Hunter and I have been playing together since youth and have been best friends ever since.

"Hunter was one of the main people to kind of persuade Coach (Ryan) Lucchesi and Coach (Ken) Krause that I could play defensive back."

Buehler, who had 52 total tackles and six interceptions as a junior, currently has offers from Northern Michigan, Bemidji State, Upper Iowa, Minnesota State and Concordia St. Paul.

"I'm hearing the most from Minnesota State, Northern State and Concordia St. Paul," Buehler said. "They keep the most consistent contact with me. But before school was let out I was talking to Illinois State and North Dakota State here and there.

"It was pretty crazy to get those offers. I wasn’t really expecting any offers at this point in my high school career, especially for being a defensive back for only one year. I thought that I was just going to get to talk to some coaches - maybe get to go visit some places. But this is already more than I thought was going to happen, which makes me only want to work harder."

A two-sport athlete, Buehler was part of the Warriors' 4x200 relay team that won a state title last spring. He was planning to take recruiting visits this month before the coronavirus shut down college campuses.

"I was supposed to visit Illinois State but, unfortunately, that never followed through due to the virus," Buehler said. "I didn't get the chance to take any visits this fall or winter, but I had been invited to visits St. Thomas and Illinois State. I started to get most of my looks during early spring, so I've been unable to take visits during this time.

"I think Northern State and Southwest Minnesota State could be close to offering. They have been reaching out to me pretty often."

Buehler and Wohler return this fall for Muskego, which is looking to capture a third straight WIAA Division 1 state title in 2020.

"A personal goal that I want to work on is the little things in my game and to make everything come together, like working on my pedal, man coverage and specific coverages," Buehler said. "The biggest goal, though, is to repeat the same success we have been having these past few years and bring home that third state title."