Inked for the Wisconsin Badgers: Four-star offensive tackle Trey Wedig

With the early signing period for high school football players beginning on Dec. 18, BadgerBlitz.com dives into a closer look at the commits who have signed with the Wisconsin Badgers.

Let's take a look at lineman Trey Wedig, who officially signed with Wisconsin on Wednesday.

According to Rivals.com, Wedig rates as a four-star prospect with a 5.9 rating, the No. 88 player in the country and No. 11 offensive tackle in the nation. According to Jon McNamara's rankings from late July, the veteran recruiting scribe placed the Kettle Moraine product as the No. 1 player in the state for the 2020 class.

Before shutting down his recruiting process in fall 2018, Wedig picked up steam with offers from numerous Power 5 programs. Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee, USC and others came calling for the services of the highly-touted offensive lineman.

However, after Wisconsin's non-conference win against New Mexico last September, Wedig made the decision to shut down his recruitment and join the 2020 class.

"To be honest, I got a text from Coach (Joe) Rudolph even before I got a text from Trey, and we keep in pretty close contact about that stuff," former Kettle Moraine head coach Justin Gumm told BadgerBlitz.com in Sept. 2018. "It was probably 30 minutes after the game and that's when Trey started to call his family.

"I wasn't surprised by the decision, but I guess I didn't know it was going to happen this soon because he didn't give us any hint. But talking to his dad later, Trey told him that he was ready after our game on Friday night. He's a pretty mature kid and I think he was a little tired of doing all the recruiting stuff. It will be nice for him not to get all the mail and the phone calls that come with it."

Wedig to BadgerBlitz.com's Jon McNamara after his commitment in September 2018:

"When I spent some time with Coach (Joe) Rudolph and saw more of Madison, I got a feeling that Wisconsin was the right place for me. I committed today because it felt like the right time."

Since his verbal commitment to UW over a year ago, Wedig has gone on to become a two-time all-state honoree by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) and recently received his All-American Bowl jersey to play in the highly-touted high school all-star game this October.

Last year, Gumm -- who now works as Grafton's offensive coordinator -- praised Wedig's athleticism.

"You'd be surprised at how athletic he is for a kid who is 300 pounds," Gumm said. "He's a lean 300-pound kid, for how crazy that sounds. He moves well, uses his leverage, has great technique and is super coachable. He's strong but I think he has a lot of room to grow there. He's in the weight room a ton and he wants to get better. Just a great student, person and leader.

"For him to progress, to be honest, he needs to get mad more often. Trey can dominate on every single play, he just needs to find the edge and use it all the time. If he does that, I think Trey is a kid who we will see play on Sundays."

Wedig, the highest-ranked recruit in Wisconsin's 2020 class, joins a group of incoming players that include fellow linemen Jack Nelson (also a four-star commit and All-American Bowl participant), Ben Barten, Tanor Bortolini and Dylan Barrett.

There is some depth at the tackle spots for UW. Left tackle Cole Van Lanen still has one year left of eligibility if he decides to return to Wisconsin, while right tackle Logan Bruss currents sits as a redshirt sophomore. Another in-state product, redshirt sophomore Tyler Beach, has taken on swing tackle duties in starting at both spots this season already.

True freshman Logan Brown, a former four-star recruit, has not played this year but also holds plenty of potential. Aaron Vopal switched over to the offensive line from the defensive side of the ball this season, while we will see where 2019 signee Joe Tippmann finds a home on Joe Rudolph's line as well.