Wisconsin's long pursuit of 3-star OLB Anelu Lafaele leads to a commitment
Just over one year ago, Wisconsin extended a scholarship to Anelu Lafaele, a three-star outside linebacker from Hawaii.
Despite a major coaching change from Paul Chryst to Luke Fickell, the Badgers remained a consistent player over the last 13 months in Lafaele's recruitment. That effort led to his public announcement for the Badgers on Tuesday. In total, Lafaele visited Madison three times during the course of his recruitment.
"Wisconsin was the right choice for me because of the coaches and being up there so many times," Lafaele told BadgerBlitz.com. "They made me feel like Wisconsin was home and the overall experience with my family was great. My family loves Wisconsin and that made my decision easy to make."
Lafaele, 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, actually committed to Wisconsin during his official visit the weekend of June 2. Keeping the news quiet over the last month wasn't difficult, however, according to the three-star talent.
"I actually committed to Wisconsin during the second day of my official visit," Lafaele said. "I told Coach (Matt) Mitchell during a meeting we had. He was slamming his fists and jumping up and down when I told him the news. I told him that I wasn't announcing until July 11, so he said he would try and keep it a secret.
"It was pretty easy to keep it quiet. I told my parents, my sisters and my family, and that was pretty much it. I kept it pretty much inside my house so it wasn't a problem."
Just prior to Tuesday's announcement, former UW linebacker and fellow Hawaii native Nick Herbig checked in to make sure Lafaele was still headed to UW. Lafele and Herbig, as well as current Badgers Trech Kekahuna and Kamo'i Latu, all have a connection to St. Louis High School in Hawaii.
"Nick got me on FaceTime last night (Sunday) and he asked about the announcement," Lafaele said. "We talked for a long time and he wanted to make sure I was still locked in with Wisconsin. I told him not to worry about it.
"Kamo'i was really excited and Trech said he can't wait until I get up there with him. We have a chance to work together and be teammates again."
Lafaele is commit No. 18 for the Badgers in the 2024 class. He joins Thomas Heiberger as projected outside linebackers for position coach Matt Mitchell in this cycle.
"They said they need another great outside linebacker and that my game is similar to Nick Herbig," Lafaele said. "That's the kind of player they want and that's the kind of player they are going to continue to recruit. They said the biggest need they have right now in their linebacker room is a pass rusher, so they want me to come in and be the guy to do that.
"My relationship with Coach Mitchell is great. I didn't know him from the start but we started texting a lot and we then got on FaceTime as well. He got to know my parents and we broke down film a lot together. He's really excited to get me up there and we have a very tight relationship. We talk pretty much every day."
West Coast schools Arizona State, Hawaii and Washington made up Lafaele's top group. Distance from home, however, was never much of a factor in his recruitment.
"It doesn't bother me at all," Lafaele said. "I actually kind of wanted to get as far away from home as possible to experience something different. So Wisconsin was perfect for that.
"It's a big weight lifted off my shoulders. I've been able to focus more on everything else in my life instead of talking to 10 coaches every day. Now I just talk to Wisconsin and I love it."
This fall, Lafaele, the No. 2 player in the state of Hawaii, is set to enroll at Farrington High School. He will play for his father, who will be the head coach in 2023.
"I wanted to graduate early and my former school wouldn't allow me to do that," Lafaele said. "My dad is also going to be the head coach at this new high school, so this is going to be really exciting for both of us.
"I wanted to graduate early because I saw how much success Nick had. He got up there and started to work right away and I wanted to do the same thing. I want to earn my stripes and hopefully start as a freshman just like he did."
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @pete_brey12, @seamus_rohrer
*Like us on Facebook