MADISON -- During Wisconsin's media day at the start of the month, fifth-year offensive tackle Rob Havenstein was asked to reflect on his recruitment as a member of the 2010 class.

"Wow, that was a long time ago," Havenstein said with a smile.

Long enough ago that the former three-star standout is on his second head coach at UW after going through two recruiting contacts from the Badgers' staff. Long enough ago to understand that transition is all too common in college football.

"My recruiting contact at Wisconsin started out with coach Kerry Cooks, but then he left. And then coach Bob Bostad took over, but he's no longer at Wisconsin, either," Havenstein told BadgerBlitz.com. "During the time it was kind of crazy, but now that you're older you realize transition happens all over college football.

"I was lucky enough to have a great coach (Bret Bielema) when I got here and then a great coach again when coach (Gary) Andersen came in. I think we got really lucky with coach A because he's a great guy. I think four of the five schools in my top five, their head coach left the year I would have signed. Wisconsin was the only one with a little bit of stability and then we went through the transition as well."

In the end, the Badgers beat out Penn State and Maryland to land Havenstein's services. The 6-foot-8, 333-pound right tackle has started 27 games during his time in Madison and is on the preseason Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award watch lists.

"I kind of narrowed it down to a couple schools where I thought I'd fit best at," Havenstein said. "Where the school was located, the style of football they played, stuff like that. When you're coming out of high school you really don't know much about what you really want to do. From what I knew then, I felt Penn State, Maryland and Wisconsin were probably real good fits for me.

"Something my dad gave me, he told me to take a week and see how you feel about each school. He told me not to rush into a one-day gut decision. So I took a week to think about Wisconsin, and then the same thing with Penn State and Maryland. And when I took a trip up here (UW) and saw the city and the school, the merit that came from the scholarship made it an easy decision for me."

Havenstein acknowledged it was difficult to pass on his home-state university, but the desire to experience something new was important.

"I think coming out, your friends and family want you to stay close so they can watch you play games," said Havenstein, who also had offers from Stanford, Virginia and Duke, among others. "But I had my mind made up that I wanted to get out and go somewhere else, just kind of get out of the state. I wanted to see what else was out there and I have a lot of family in Michigan, so it was a pretty easy transition for me. It wasn't too hard on me, I guess it was harder for the people that wanted to catch a few games."

Preparing for his final season at Wisconsin, Havenstein said he is not as involved with on-campus recruiting efforts for the staff.

"I did a lot of that stuff a couple years ago -- coach Andersen wants people he can trust to look over these guys and set a good example," Havenstein said. "But going into your senior year, they don't have as many demands for you. We have a lot of family coming up and they want us to enjoy our last go-around with them.

"For a younger kid going through the process, the biggest advice would be to take your time and don't get wrapped up in the hype. Personally, you have to make a decision that's best for you."

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

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