NSD 2022: Notable quotes from BadgerBlitz.com's commit interviews

The early signing period starts on Wednesday, and Wisconsin currently holds 13 commits. BadgerBlitz.com has spoken with many of those players over the course of the last two months via our YouTube channel about their respective recruiting journeys that will see them head to Madison.

We have had some great conversations with these future Badgers, and with that, we highlight some of the quotes from those chats. Please note: This is just a sampling of some of the discussions in the respective videos below. Be sure to check out more from this Wisconsin class of 2022 as seen in the embedded videos.

The clock strikes zero inside Camp Randall Stadium, your future home. What emotions are flowing through you when you can say to yourself, 'I'm a state champion now?'"

"It's a lot of emotions. It's a long journey for me in high school. A lot of ups and downs -- injuries, cancelations, you name it. Kind of think back to a lot of people really didn't think I was going to do it. They counted me out a little bit, and it was kind of like a joyful time where I could just say, all that adversity, it came to an end on that field.

"At the same time, you understand that you played your last game with that team, and it's just kind of a lot of emotions coming together at one time. People, they got some emotion-filled moments with me and my teammates, and those are all real, true moments. At that moment, it was just super exciting but it was also kind of sad that I'll never play with the Franklin Sabers again. But obviously, you're glad to be a champion. Takes a lot of work, got to win a lot of games, so I was just really happy."

On what stands out about Joe Brunner and what he will bring to Wisconsin:

"First of all, Joe's one of my best friends, so I'm gonna probably give him more praise than he maybe even wants, but Joe's probably one of the most physically dominating o-linemen that I've seen. Talk about a guy that big, who can move that fast, that's pretty incredible. He's a tank. He sets the line of scrimmage, and he's a great run blocker, he's a great pass blocker. He's one of those guys who's not going to stop until the whistle, and that's something I saw that I kind of was like, 'Whoa.' I know that somebody had a video of him on Twitter Week 1 where he just pushes a kid out of the way. Just that physically dominant force, where we look at the translation to college, where he'll be able to take on those big interior linemen and those big ends and linebackers that you see in the Big Ten.

"I think he's gonna be a great player. I think he can play anywhere, to be honest. I know they like him at tackle, but I think he could play interior as well. He's got the size and the strength to do it. My true thing is the ability for his quickness and his speed at that size, it's just kind of blows me away."

Describing conversation styles of head coach Paul Chryst and defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej:

"As far as Coach K goes, from what I've heard he can be a little bit of a fiery coach on the field, but at home, he's a true family man. He's been there. He's been to where I want to be, he's done that already, and I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather learn from."

What can Wisconsin fans expect from Monday once he arrives in Madison:

"Man, I'm going to give you all I have, and I can promise you one thing, you will see me out on that field freshman year."

On his March 9, 2020 tweet about his "Top 5" and if he expect it to take it off like it did:

"Not really. Honestly, not really. Like it was just a fun idea I thought because everybody kept asking me when will I narrow down my schools, and I was like, 'I got something for them.' That whole week, 'I'm dropping the top five,' and it ended up being the foods, and it just took off.

"I posted it late at night, too ... Best Celebrations picked it up. All the sporting pages, and a bunch of pages that picked it up, and I've seen a bunch of people retweeting it. I know Dick's [Sporting Goods] hit me up. Zaxby's, it was definitely a dope moment, man."

What can Wisconsin fans expect from Neal once he arrives in Madison:

"Expect a dedicated kid, man. This has always been my dream. I've been putting my all into this so definitely just expect a dedicated kid that's going to try his hardest to please you guys and try to please myself. I want to prove myself right before I can prove anybody else wrong."

Describing head coach Paul Chryst and wide receivers coach Alvis Whitted as people, for those that may not know who they are:

"I think they're both just real people. You see some people that act different behind the scenes and all that. I feel like they're natural all the way through, and I feel like when I talk to them, I'm just comfortable with them, and they're just good people. They're just good men I feel like. They're good family men, and they care about who's going to be a part of their family. I really got that feeling when I met them the first time and on this in-home visit. I just feel like they're both good, genuine men, and I got a lot of respect for both of them."

On where Wisconsin envisions him on either offense or defense:

"I really don't the answer to that, and I need to figure that out soon. [smiles] As of right now, I think running back and receiver and safety and even linebacker, those are all possible options for me. Obviously, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing when it comes to training and stuff. If I found that answer, I'm definitely going to focus on that position."

Is there one position that you're more comfortable with right now, or is it whatever suits best?

"I mean honestly, I feel like I could play any position really, except maybe like nose guard. [laughs] Any position they really put me at, any position the team needs, I plan on to fill that spot, which hopefully leads Wisconsin to a successful year."

What he feels he'll bring to Wisconsin:

"Hopefully what everybody says I am. That versatility. I'm that player that can play any spot whenever they need it and make big plays when big plays need to be made, so I plan to fill that role, and I look forward to it."

On Myles Burkett's 2021 senior season and being his future quarterback:

"His season was incredible. I don't think you could have a better season for a quarterback. He knows what he's doing. He doesn't fold under pressure.

"I wouldn't want to play for any other quarterback. He knows what he's doing every single time. He's smart, so I'm more than pumped to get with him and work with him."

How he would describe his gameplay at the high school level:

"I'm fast. I'm vicious. I'm aggressive. I don't want to say dirty because I'm not dirty, but I'm passionate for sure."

What can Wisconsin fans expect out of Brown when he arrives in Madison:

"They can expect a hard-working, dedicated, fun-loving, people-loving safety from Johnston City, Ill. That's what they can expect. I'm going to give everything I have, I'm going to love the fans, love the community, love our people, and I'm going to do what I can do."

On being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as a player and how hard it was to navigate and get his name out there and trying to be seen by other schools and make a decision to find a collegiate home:

"Honestly, last year in the offseason, the recruiting process was really tough. I made sure to go to as many camps I could to see as many schools, and I wasn't home for probably a month straight. It was really rough on my body just being on the road and doing all these camps day after day. It was a lot, but I know I needed to do it. Just get myself out there for all these coaches and showing myself out because I didn't have much film so I knew I had to do what I had to do."

On the process on reopening his recruiting process after committing to Air Force previously, and if it was hard to talk with the Falcons' coaches about the decision to find a new collegiate home:

"Honestly, before I made the phone call, I was a little nervous just having to tell them, because it's a tough situation and just a hard topic to bring up. But once I talked to coach [Bill] Sheridan, he was really easy going about it, and he supported me no matter what. I really loved how they did that and the way they took it, it was really respectful."

*As a recruit who had to deal with COVID-19 pandemic and the recruiting dead period, how hard it was to navigate the situation where he was not able to take official visits until this past summer:

"It was very, very different especially because that's a huge part of going into your decision making is being able to meet people face to face and see campuses and everything. So not having that absolutely makes the situation more difficult.

"But one of the reasons that Wisconsin actually stood out to me is as soon as coach 'Po' [Poteat] was brought on to the staff, he reached out. He had no reason to have to do that. He could have just been like, 'I'm going to go somewhere else and find my own guys,' but as soon as he was on the staff, he reached out. Even though I wasn't able to go on to the campuses super early, you're still able to do virtual visits and talk with those coaches and build those relationships."

*How is it with his frame to play running back for Monroe:

"So it's been interesting playing running back at about 6-foot-6, 220 [pounds]. I think I'm listed at 225, so somewhere in between there. I've got to stay low, keep running my feet. I've learned a lot playing running back about carrying the ball and different things."

*How the Badgers could use him within the offense:

"I think they've talked a lot about me being a pass catcher because they have a lot of blocking tight ends. But I feel like I could develop my game and really do anything at the tight end position."

How the bond of 2022 commits has grown since McIntosh committed:

"I think it's grown tremendously. There were a lot of guys on my official visit that went on to commit, a lot of guys that are in that picture. We were able to build that bond from Day One. We all kind of just met as strangers on the official visit and we became really good friends really fast.

"Just being around like-minded people, it's really great. We build off of each other and we build those friendships, those connections that you don't always see, so we've bonded really fast."

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