Nolan Davenport was scheduled to see four schools officially in June: Michigan State, Missouri, Penn State and Wisconsin.
But after a visit with the Badgers this past weekend, the 6-foot-6, 280-pound offensive tackle from Ohio committed to UW on Thursday.
"I felt that the culture at Wisconsin, which is set by the coaches and the players, really fit me well," Davenport told BadgerBlitz.com. "It matches what I want to be as a person and football player moving forward."
A three-star prospect from Massillon High School, Davenport picked up an offer from the Badgers in late April and visited Madison for the first time during a spring practice. He is commit No. 14 for Wisconsin in the 2025 class.
Davenport joined a group for position coach AJ Blazek that previously included tackles Michael Roeske and Cam Clark, in addition to projected guard Logan Powell. Wisconsin will host four-star Hardy Watts this weekend in hopes of finishing its class with the Rivals250 talent.
Should the Badgers get up to five scholarship linemen, it would match the number from the 2024 cycle.
"I told Coach Blazek last night (Wednesday) and let him know the good news," Davenport said. "He was super hyped for me and hyped for the team.
"There are a lot of successful linemen who have come out of Wisconsin and I have NFL aspirations. Wisconsin is a place that can develop offensive linemen, and that was huge for me."
Davenport, who transitioned from tight end to offensive tackle this past season, also garnered offers from Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, among others, during the course of his recruitment.
"My sophomore year I started at tight end but then I moved to tackle my junior year. It was a great move, obviously," Davenport said. "Coach Blazek likes my size, athleticism and ability at tackle.
"He actually recruited me when he was at Vanderbilt, so that was one of the reasons that I committed to Wisconsin. He believed I could play tackle even before they moved me there."
Davenport's time with the players and coaches during his official put the Badgers on top.
"I had Colin Cubberly and James Durand as my player hosts and everything was good with them," Davenport said. "It was good to sit down with them and get my questions answered. They were honest about what it’s like to play for the program.
"Coach (Luke) Fickell’s message was that I’m the type of person he wants in his program and that I’m a great fit for what they want to do. I was able to sit down and get a deep dive into the plan the coaching staff has for me. Coach Fickell took me and the other offensive linemen out on a pontoon boat, and that was a lot of fun. We also ate a lot of good food.
"It’s a big stress relief off my shoulders. I’m excited for my senior year and I’m ready to work to go back-to-back as state champs."
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