By Mark Pszonak
Recruiting can be very fun. One reason for this is the entertaining battles between on-field rivals, which can spill over into the world of recruiting. A new example of this recently occurred when offensive lineman Gavin Meier, who committed to Minnesota last week, shared his thoughts on why he didn’t commit to in-state Wisconsin.
Talk about throwing flames on the fire of a rivalry 😭🔥
Top rated prospect in Wisconsin, Gavin Meier, shares his thoughts on the Badgers during his Minnesota commitment: pic.twitter.com/UiJM3BoTlT
— Dane Mosher (@___daner) March 28, 2025
It isn’t the norm to hear comments like this from a recruit after a commitment. But unless you are a blind Wisconsin loyalist, it is also incredibly difficult to argue with anything that Maier says.
“this isn’t the same Wisconsin they used to be,” Meier told The Athletic. “Like, this isn’t the Barry Alvarez Wisconsin.”
It is interesting that Meier went all the way back to Alvarez and didn’t mention more recent successful Wisconsin coaches like Paul Chryst, Gary Anderson and especially Bret Bielema. Either he has done his research or people around him have discussed the topic with him.
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He is also correct that Minnesota has beaten Wisconsin three of the last four years, including the last two in Madison. Before this most recent stretch, the Badgers had won 16 of the previous 17 stretching back to 2004.
And finally, he is correct that if Wisconsin suffers through another season like the one they just struggled through in 2024, head coach Luke Fickell’s seat will be scorching hot, no matter the recent contract extension he received.
These are interesting times in Madison. But having top in-state recruits throwing gasoline on the fire was something nobody expected. The negatives continue to pile up for Coach Fickell.
