With a clear mind, QB Graham Mertz shuts down his recruitment

Wisconsin recruiting fans can sleep a little easier tonight.

Thursday evening, prized quarterback commit Graham Mertz, who committed to the Badgers last fall, announced his intentions to "completely shut down" his recruitment. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior recently jumped 162 spots from the Rivals250 into the Rivals100 and has arguably been the hottest quarterback in the country this off-season.

Mertz, the No. 4 signal in the country, visited Madison officially last weekend.

"It was really fun to be at coach (Paul) Chryst's house," Mertz told BadgerBlitz.com earlier this week. "We were there with A.J. (Taylor) and a bunch of other players and commits. Being there with our families was really good and we were there for probably about three hours. Coach (Jon) Budmayr and I are the reigning corn-hole champions, but coach Rudy (Joe Rudolph) is right up there. So that was just another part of a great weekend.

"Before that dinner, we were probably in the office for two or three hours in the morning just going over film, formations and drops, stuff like that. Coach Chryst was in there as well and it was great to talk some football and get going with Wisconsin's offense. Coach Budmayr and I are building a stronger relationship every time I'm with him, so it was a lot of fun to spend time with him again."

At the time of his commitment, Mertz, from Blue Valley North High School in Kansas, only had two offers. This winter and spring, though, scholarships came in from Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, LSU, Miami, Oregon and Michigan, among many others. He visited both Georgia and Ohio State this spring.

The Badgers currently have 10 commitments in the 2019 class.