Things have worked out pretty well for Melvin Gordon during his time at Wisconsin.

The 6-foot-1, 213-pound junior running back will be a Heisman Trophy contender this fall and currently ranks No. 13 in UW history with 2,328 career rushing yards. It's a career, however, that almost never happened had Gordon stuck to his original college pledge.

A recruit in the 2011 class, Gordon, a product of Kenosha Bradford High School, committed to Iowa in August of 2010 due to a strong connection with position coach Lester Erb, among other things.

"When I have a connection to someone, I get my mind set and that's what I want to do," Gordon told BadgerBlitz.com at Wisconsin's media day Friday. "I had a real, real close connection to the running backs coach (Erb) at Iowa. You want to have a strong connection with your future position coach, and I did. But I just got a better feeling with Wisconsin and some other things factored in, so I altered my decision."

As expected, the Badgers continued their pursuit of Gordon, who rushed for over 3,000 yards and 49 touchdowns for Bradford during his junior and senior seasons. In early December of the same year, Gordon flipped his pledge to then-head coach Bret Bielema, much to the delight of his father.

"Yeah, my dad was mad that I committed to Iowa," Gordon joked. "But he was really happy that I committed to Wisconsin and he felt that was the right choice. He knew I would be successful here, and he was right. It (staying close to home) was huge and family support was a big thing. I knew my family would be able to support me at Wisconsin. Why not stay at home where they can see you play and grow?

"The recruiting process, man, it was tough on me. The coaches calling and everyone sending mail. It was tough on me and that's why I think I committed early. It was a long process and at the end of the day, I do feel it was the right decision to come here."

Gordon, who racked up no less than 11 scholarship offers during his recruitment, said he didn't hear any crazy pitches or promises from coaches during the process.

"I didn't hear anything crazy like that," Gordon, a former four-star recruit, said. "They kept it straightforward with me and I told them they didn't need to sell me the bull. At Wisconsin, they told me that they weren't going to promise me anything, they didn't promise a starting spot because that's probably not going to be the case. They said you're going to have to work, but you'll get your opportunity and you just have to make the best out of it."

Heading into potentially his final year in Madison, Gordon, the fastest player in Wisconsin's history to reach 1,000 career rushing yards, prefers to stay away from hosting official visitors the staff brings on campus..

"I'm not really a fan of it because I'm more of a chill type of guy and I know the kids want to come up here and have a good time," he said. "There's nothing wrong with having fun, but I'm really chill. But when they do, I try and show the recruits a good time. I know how it is, so I do my best to show them around."

Gordon has few regrets, but he did offer up one piece of advice to high-profile recruits in his same situation.

"Definitely take all your officials," Gordon said. "That's my only regret. It's a great time and I would recommend to take all your officials. You'll never get that chance again."

Wisconsin opens the 2014 season on Aug. 30 against LSU in Houston.

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