Wisconsin commit Reggie Pearson spends four days in Madison
Wisconsin's first pledge in the 2018 class recently spent a good chunk of time at his future home.
Reggie Pearson, who committed to the Badgers last August, was in Madison from April 18-21, a visit that concluded with UW's spring game on Friday.
"What really stood out to me was the brotherhood of the players," Pearson told BadgerBlitz.com. "At one of the practices I sat down and had a real good conversation with D'Cota Dixon about the brotherhood. And it showed the love that everyone had for each other, like there was never a bad vibe between two people and no one ever has anything bad to say about their teammate.
"Me and my dad were driving around the whole city and every part was beautiful, so that's something new, I guess."
A 5-foot-10, 180-pound projected safety from River Rouge High School in Michigan, Pearson appreciated the time he was able to spend with Dixon, who is penciled in to start at safety for the second straight fall.
"He (Dixon) really took me under his wing," Pearson said. "He was like a mentor or big brother to me for a hot second. He's a cool guy - real spiritual, up-beat guy. He's a great leader and I'll be happy to fill in his shoes."
Pearson, who plans to graduate early in order to enroll at UW next spring, was able to speak with a handful of coaches while on campus. He also spent the spring game with other Wisconsin commits in the junior class.
"The talks with the coaches were really informational, they just told me to watch D'Cota and see what he was doing on the plays," Pearson, who carries a 4.0 GPA, said. "Then I started to listen to coach (Jim Leonhard) calling the plays and put the puzzle together myself. They showed a lot of love and really brought me in as a second son, which was a great feeling to have.
"Me and the other commits are pretty tight. We all know we're going to be together for four, maybe five years, so we're getting comfortable."
At the time of his commitment, Pearson picked the Badgers over offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Iowa State, Miami of Ohio, Syracuse and Western Michigan. Schools such as Vanderbilt, which recently offered, have stayed in contact, according to Pearson.
"I mean, nothing is permanent with any school because anything can happen and I'm aware of that," Pearson said. "I am pretty locked into Wisconsin right now, though. But, of course, I'll have a back up plan. That's just the way life is.
"I've been in contact with my current offers, of course, along with Kentucky, Missouri, Northern Illinois, Stanford, Navy, Air Force, Syracuse and Virginia."
Pearson, who has family in the state, plans to get back to Wisconsin on June 9.
"It was good to get a feel of things to come for me - home sweet home," Pearson said. "My dad absolutely loved it. I think he's more of a Badger fan than I am."
UW currently has eight commitments in the 2018.
