Wisconsin commit Ayo Adebogun has made big gains during the off-season

Ayo Adebogun's height and weight may not look much different from his junior to senior season on the Highlanders' roster.

But the three-star prospect from Homestead (WI) High School has seen a transformation this off-season, thanks to three workouts each day this summer.

"I have a gym at home, so I’ve been working out twice a day, pretty much every day, since April," Adebogun said on the BadgerBlitz.com Podcast. "Our football (team) at Homestead started doing our speed and agility program, so it’s been pretty much three workouts a day for the past two months.

"Right now my weight hasn’t changed much but I’ve seen a change in my size - my body size has changed a lot. The weight is still there and it’s good weight. It’s been challenging, but I think that I’m doing the best that I can with it."

A 6-foot-3, 215-pound rising senior, Adebogun has also improved his speed, something that intrigued the Wisconsin coaching staff when they offered a full scholarship last fall.

"I know for a fact that I’ve gotten faster," Adebogun said. "I’ve hit a new 40 (yard dash) time (4.6 seconds) just in the last two weeks and I’ve been getting faster - working out more has helped a lot. The speed plays a big role in that because that’s an advantage I have on all of the other commits that we have. All of them are raw athletes and strong people, but I can use my speed to get around.

"As one of the leaders on the team, I’m trying to encourage everybody to keep coming to workouts, keep on doing everything they can do to make themselves better and prepare themselves for the spring."

In his final year at Homestead, Adebogun and his teammates will be without legendary head coach Dave Keel, who announced his retirement in late July. In 30 seasons, Keel had a 292-70 career record and six state championships.

"Coach Keel taught me how to work," Adebogun said. "Coming in as a freshman, I think I was a little hot-head because everybody thought that I was a big-shot freshman who was going to be on varsity and stuff. He really took me aside and said, ‘If you want to do this, you’re going to have to put in the work.’ I started doing that and everything started working out well. I really thank him for that.

"Being a sophomore and looking up to all the great players that we had when we won state, I think that really pushed me to be better than them and prove that I can really make a difference with this team. Even though we didn’t make it back to state last year, we still had a good run. Becoming more of a vocal leader is something that I definitely want to work on. Being a junior last year, I tried to say as much as I could but you have to let the seniors do what they do. Now being a senior and being able to talk to guys more, leading more is something that I’m working on and something that is good for me."

Adebogun, who had 75 total tackles, including 17 sacks as a junior, had a fairly quick recruiting process. He visited Wisconsin for the first time and was offered last September. A final decision in favor of the Badgers was made in December.

"I don’t even remember if Wisconsin talked to my coaches, I just remember getting an invite to a game, and at that game I got a scholarship," Adebogun said. "Before that I had no contact with them - they weren’t one of the schools that was looking at me. I literally got an email or a text just saying I should come down and that was it. It (Wisconsin offer) was real surprising. When coach gave me the news, everyone came up and congratulated me because they were all in on it. I don’t remember how I reacted, but I remember how my dad reacted. He was really excited because going to school wouldn’t be cheap without a scholarship. That really touched my parents.

"The only reason why I didn’t commit right away was because my dad and I really love to travel. Going to a different college every week was pretty awesome and just being able to do that was fun. I honestly thought that I couldn’t get any better than Wisconsin. I could have waited and got bigger offers but, personally, I don’ think it gets better."

Michigan State offered in April, but that scholarship didn't affect Adebogun's commitment.

"I was pretty well set, although Michigan State was one of the first schools, along with Iowa, to look at me," Adebogun said. "I was kind of surprised and happy to get it. But at the same time, it didn’t really make that big of a difference to me."

There is still a good deal of uncertainly surrounding his senior season, but Adebogun, an all-state pick in 2019, insists he'll be ready to go.

"Personally, I look at it as I’m just happy to play," he said. "Whenever we play, I’m happy to play. That’s just how I’m seeing it right now."