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Three-star OLB Thomas Heiberger 'was meant to be a Wisconsin Badger'

With schools such as Stanford, Washington, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, among many others, all heavily involved in his recruitment, Thomas Heiberger had plenty of options for official visits this summer.

But after his third unofficial to Wisconsin earlier this month, the three-star prospect was ready to shut down his recruitment and commit to the Badgers. Heiberger made that news public on Sunday afternoon.

Three-star outside linebacker Thomas Heiberger announced his commitment to Wisconsin on Sunday.
Three-star outside linebacker Thomas Heiberger announced his commitment to Wisconsin on Sunday.
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"In the end, Wisconsin was just the place that felt like home," Heiberger told BadgerBlitz.com on Sunday. "Being around the staff and the players, I feel like I fit in.

"Coach (Matt) Mitchell believes in a lot of the same things that I do, and I have a great relationship with Coach (Luke) Fickell, Coach (Mike) Tressel and the rest of the staff. They are always high energy and I can't wait to be part of the big plans they have for the future of the program."

Heiberger, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound projected outside linebacker, is commit No. 5 for the Badgers in the 2024 class. He visited for a home game in late November and picked up an offer from the new staff during a junior day visit in January.

"I called Coach Mitch to tell him the good news and he said he was so excited to lock me in right away," Heiberger said. "The rest of the coaches were also real excited and it was a huge relief to get that taken care of.

"I think the opportunity I had at Wisconsin was too good to pass up. When I kept thinking about it, I just asked myself, 'why not Wisconsin?' I didn't have any reason not to and I felt it in my gut that this was home and this was the right place for me. I didn't want to wait and I wanted to get it done with. I feel like I'm meant to be a Wisconsin Badger."

The standout from Jefferson High School in South Dakota is the first pledge for coordinator Mike Tressel on the defensive side of the ball. He will work to add more pieces to this class during the offseason.

"I met Koi Perich, the safety from Minnesota, during my visit in January," Heiberger said. "I know Wisconsin really likes him a lot so I'll do my best to get him to join me. Being the first defensive commitment in this class, we need to start building that side of the ball up.

"I just started talking to a lot of the current commits because they started to hit me up after that last visit. I'm sure I'll be getting to know those guys more in the future now that I'm committed."

Heiberger, who had 44 tackles, six sacks and one interception as a junior, is scheduled to return to Madison for his official visit the weekend of June 9.

"It's a huge relief to be able to focus on school and the sports I'm playing right now. I'm glad that I'm done," Heiberger said. "Recruiting is fun but it's stressful, and I'm really happy that I found my place so early in the process."

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