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Three-star TE Tucker Ashcraft commits to Wisconsin after official visit

Tucker Ashcraft had a lot of time to think about his official visit to Wisconsin during his five-plus hour flight back to Seattle this past weekend.

That distance proved not to be a factor, because on Tuesday evening, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound senior tight end from O'Dea High School in Washington announced his commitment to the Badgers.


Tight end Tucker Ashcraft committed to Wisconsin on Tuesday.
Tight end Tucker Ashcraft committed to Wisconsin on Tuesday.
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"The culture, coaches and the academics were the biggest thing for me," Ashcraft told BadgerBlitz.com. "Wisconsin meets all my criteria, and I love the stability of Coach (Luke) Fickell. He was at Ohio State for over 17 years and then Cincinnati for six. That just kind of shows that he wants to stick around and he wants to develop the program.

"At first the distance was something that I had to think about. But then the place was just so great that it didn't matter as much as it used to for me. Wisconsin was just the best option for me."

Ashcraft, a three-star prospect, is the third commitment for the Badgers over the last 24 hours, joining cornerback Jonas Duclona and safety Braedyn Moore. All three were on campus for officials last weekend.

"When I showed up on Thursday night there were four staff members who greeted me at the hotel, so that showed a lot about how much Wisconsin wanted me, and I appreciated that," Ashcraft said. "The next day we had a great breakfast and then went to the facilities. We also got a run down of the academics at Wisconsin and that was super important for me because I want to major in business when I get there. Other than that, we just spent a lot of time with the coaches and other recruits. It was a great visit.

"The first thing I noticed about Coach Fickell was how genuine he was. After a few conversations I could tell that he really cared about the players at the school and the people around him. The development of his players is also very important and I can really appreciate that. Instead of going after a bunch of transfer portal kids he cares about developing a high school kid, and I think that's pretty special these days."

Ashcroft is the first tight end commit for the Badgers in the 2023 class. And though he's not positive who will be his position coach next fall, that did not affect his decision.

"They said they haven't officially hired anyone as the tight ends coach, but I did talk to Coach Gino (Guidugli) during the visit," Ashcraft said. "He's either going to be the tight ends coach or running backs coach. Him and I got along real well and he's super fun to talk to. The second night we had a great dinner and I built that connection with him, but we didn't go over film or anything like that.

"Wisconsin likes my blocking ability and athleticism. They also saw my will to be out there and love for the game. I just love being out there and I think that stood out to them. They said they want to take two tight ends in this class but I don't know how that is going to work out. They still have to go and get another one, so we'll see how that goes."

During the course of his recruitment, Ashcraft, a one-time Colorado commit, racked up offers from Air Force, Eastern Washington, Idaho, Idaho State, Michigan State and Northern Arizona. His decision, though, ultimately came down to Wisconsin and Washington.

"It was basically down to Wisconsin and Washington," Ashcraft said. "But what happened was that Washington had their transfer portal tight end come on a visit but he wasn't ready to make a decision until the end of the week. That didn't line up with my timeline so I committed to Wisconsin.

"It's a lot of stress off my shoulders and it's nice to know that you're going to a great place like Wisconsin."

The Badgers currently have 11 scholarship commitments in the 2023 class.

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