Wisconsin commitment a 'dream come true' for in-state safety Grant Dean
Grant Dean, an in-state safety from Neenah High School, picked up an offer from Wisconsin on Tuesday during an unofficial visit.
Less than 24 hours later, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior announced his commitment to the Badgers.
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"I've visited a few times and we were looking forward to getting back," Dean told BadgerBlitz.com. "Coach (Alex) Grinch told me that he didn't want to see me leave the state and that he wanted me here as a Badger. We kind of had an idea that the offer could come, but it was still very exciting.
"It was a dream come true for me to play for the Badgers. I've been watching them since I was a little kid and have been going to games. I'm super excited."
Dean, who recently ran the 100-meter dash in 10.8 seconds, joins a safety class for Wisconsin that currently includes four-star Jaimier Scott. As a junior, the three-star prospect had 59 total tackles and two interceptions to go along with 1,991 yards and 28 touchdowns on offense.
"They think I'm very versatile," Dean said. "They like my athleticism and think it translates well to safety. Coach Grinch doesn't want his safeties to play just one position, so he told me that I can play a variety of positions. But he loves that I play physical and fast.
"Me and Coach Grinch have built a great relationship and it's really grown. When Coach (Colin) Hitschler left I didn't know if it would happen with Wisconsin, but we've picked right up where we left off."
Dean chose Wisconsin over offers from Army, South Dakota State, North Dakota State, Wyoming and Northern Illinois. He was a large school all-state pick by the WFCA in 2023.
"It feels great to be done with recruiting and to be able to focus on my goals and my senior year," Dean said.
Wisconsin currently has eight commitments in the 2025 class.
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