Pfaff: Best decision of my life
David Pfaff certainly wasn't second guessing his decision to commit to Wisconsin, the school he pledged to in late May.
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But an unofficial visit to Madison on Sunday reaffirmed that his verbal commitment to the Badgers was absolutely the correct choice.
"Best decision that I ever made in my entire life," Pfaff told BadgerBlitz.com. "Especially after going up there on Sunday, it's the perfect place for me. The support that we have from the fans and the staff at Wisconsin, I think we're going to do some amazing things. It's like a dream come true."
A 6-foot-1, 245-pound in-state defensive lineman from Homestead High School, Pfaff made the short trip to Madison in order to help recruit a number of uncommitted prospects who were on campus. When he arrived, the group -- David Moorman, Austin Kafentzis, Kyle Penniston and Jon Dietzen -- were already in celebration mode after four-lineman Sam Madden committed to the Badgers early Sunday morning.
"I got there on Sunday and that was the last day they were all together and the day of the camp," Pfaff said. "We went to Mickies (Dairy Bar) in the morning and were just kind of celebrating Madden's commitment. Just awesome food at that place and it was good to show the guys how great the food is in our state. Besides that it was a great day. We talked to the coaches, hung out in the players' lounge and really just got to know each other better."
While on campus, Pfaff latched onto Nate Howard, who also left Madison as a Wisconsin commit. A 6-foot-5, 220-pound prospect from Saint Louis, Howard has the ability play both outside linebacker and defensive end in the Badgers' 3-4 scheme.
"The biggest thing for me and something that I really liked was that we kind of all took one of the uncommitted recruits while we were there," Pfaff said. "I really focused on Nate Howard and the staff was really excited about him. I just stood next to him during the tours and got a chance to meet his family. It's really a great way to see if another player is a good fit for our school. Honestly, I think it's a great way to go about it. With a guy like Sam, you could tell that he was a fit from the second I met him. He's a massive human being and is going to fit in well as an offensive lineman, but he's also a really great person.
"With Nate, he's one of the nicest people I've ever. He comes from Saint Louis and he just comes across as a hard worker. Nate and Sam are kind of quiet, but they want to play at the highest level and Wisconsin can offer that. But Nate and his family are such great people and he seemed really honored to be at Wisconsin, and then he obviously committed to us. I think he recognized all the opportunities that Wisconsin presents on and off the field and I can't wait to get working with Nate on the defensive line. I already know that we're going to gel together and I think we'll be a perfect combination."
An all-state selection as a junior, Pfaff played both end and tackle for the Highlanders, who finished 11-1 in 2013. Defensive coordinator Dave Aranda and position coach Chad Kauha'aha'a both talked about where they think the two-star prospect projects as a Badger.
"Coach Chad definitely thinks more end but when I was talking to coach Aranda, he thinks I can play in the 4i technique when I put on some weight and stuff," Pfaff said. "I can pass rush and run stop from there and I should be effective because I'm quick off the ball. I'm very excited and that's where they project me right now and it's very similar to what I'm doing right now at Homestead. A lot of our base packages are the same at Wisconsin, so it's going to be a great fit for me."
With his whole summer and senior year ahead of him, Pfaff is enjoying the process of building relationships with his future teammates, a group of 15 athletes from 10 different states.
"We're such a close unit of guys," Pfaff said. "Even though we're all over the country, there's a ton of chemistry building."
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