Competition, camaraderie and development stick with Wisconsin commits after visits (2024)

Michael Roeske honestly didn’t miss much class time last month, even with the amount of University of Wisconsin football practices he attended.

Roeske, one of 10 recruits for the 2025 class who have verbally committed to the University of Wisconsin football program, was seen at four of the team’s 15 spring practices. Freshmen and sophom*ore pre-ACT testing at Wautoma allowed him to travel to Madison for one Tuesday morning practice, the high school junior explained, and he also came back on two Saturdays.

He missed only one day of school while soaking in what’s to come with the Badgers in the not-so-distant future.

“They said they're gonna have to put an air mattress in one of the extra rooms for me to sleep in,” Roeske said.

Roeske was among eight of those 10 commits to take unofficial visits when Wisconsin practiced this spring. Three — safety Grant Dean (Neenah), offensive lineman Cam Clark (Dexter, Michigan) and athlete Luke Emmerich (Monticello, Minnesota) — visited at least once last month before they announced their commitments.

“It’s always great coming back, and they always make me feel welcomed, make me feel like I'm at home again,” defensive back Remington Moss said. “And every time I leave, I always miss it. I'm not gonna lie.”

Wisconsin has three in-state recruits within its 2025 class, and they all made multiple visits during spring practices. Roeske led the pack of future Badgers with four, followed by Dean with three.

Germantown linebacker Cooper Catalano visited twice, and each trip was unique. The first time in Madison included a school leadership group that’s run by Germantown football coach Jake Davis, an experience Catalano called “super special.”

“That day was kind of more of a recruit day, if you will,” Catalano said. “They kind of spoiled our guys a little bit. They gave us a campus tour, gave them a facility tour. Obviously I've been through all that, having been to Madison a bunch now. But it was just super fun for all those guys to kind of see everything that's going on here and all the special things coach (Luke) Fickell’s building.

“But the second time I came up with my dad to kind of watch practice and then got to watch some film with coaches after. So it was a little bit more businesslike, a little bit more football-like, which was super fun for me and kind of learning the defense early here.”

Roeske and Catalano, who plan to enroll early and room together, also experienced the differences visiting the program while being committed. Roeske has started to build relationships with offensive linemen on the team. That’s a sentiment echoed by Catalano, who also received the opportunity to chat with his future teammates whether off the field or in the inside linebacker huddle.

“Got to eat with Landon (Gauthier) from (Green Bay) Bay Port and then also Tyler Jansey, so that was super cool,” Catalano said. “That's the biggest difference, I think, since being committed. I'm kind of able to connect with my future teammates and future coaches more.”

Catalano saw the rapid tempo of Wisconsin’s practices whether transitioning from walk-through periods to what he described as “a fast circuit." That’s something the linebacker said Germantown wants to implement within its team.

Roeske intently watched on as first-year offensive line coach AJ Blazek and worked with his group. In particular, Roeske focused on the techniques of Wisconsin’s first-team and second-team tackle tandems as he’s already preparing for his time as a Badger.

“Just because watching the difference between the two starters that have been starting for the last three, four years, and then watching the true freshmen,” Roeske said, “it's like the simplest thing of getting out of your stance, making sure your leg is underneath you and getting up to the next level compared to watching Jack (Nelson) do it and then watching (Kevin) Heywood do it.”

“That's what I was really trying to watch and really trying to compare and say, ‘Alright, this is what I can work on this summer’ and just come in and have that already down and be able to have one step closer to help in my game and then competing and pushing everyone else on the O-line.”

Moss took a multi-day unofficial visit that included attending Wisconsin’s final spring practice on May 2, and he spoke with a couple of key Wisconsin targets, four-star linebacker Mason Posa and three-star wide receiver Vernon Allen III. Just where Moss could potentially line up in the Badgers’ secondary is yet to be determined, but he said he feels comfortable at safety, cornerback and nickel back. He watched All-Big Ten safety Hunter Wohler and complimented the performance of cornerback Amare Snowden, who is listed by Wisconsin as a redshirt freshman.

Wisconsin’s final practice included an extensive special teams “kick scrimmage” that split the team into two. The competition, a key theme Fickell has discussed this spring, between both players and coaches stood out.

“When your coaches are competing in these, it makes the players want to compete even harder,” Moss said. “If your coaches are getting heated with each other, talking their talk, then why wouldn't you want to talk your talk?”