MADISON, Wis. — Landon Gauthier and his parents arrived on Wisconsin’s campus Tuesday morning with a few unanswered questions remaining as Gauthier tried to parse through the final stages of his college recruitment. Gauthier, who grew up 2 1/2 hours away in Green Bay, Wis., had a pretty good understanding of the football program. Now, he wanted to meet with a representative of the business school and learn more about academic support for student-athletes and potential networking opportunities after graduation.
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One month earlier, Gauthier — who possesses a 3.91 grade-point average — had visited Stanford, which offered him a scholarship in February. He was split “50-50,” as he put it, between Wisconsin and Stanford, though he was intrigued that Wisconsin’s new coaching staff was so eager to bring him into the fold. What happened Tuesday clinched his choice.
As Gauthier wrapped up a busy day that included meetings with coaches, academic staffers and a spring practice, he and his family had one final item on the docket: talking to Badgers inside linebacker Maema Njongmeta for a first-hand player viewpoint of the Wisconsin experience. Njongmeta, an Illinois native and two-time academic all-state selection, turned down eight Ivy League football opportunities for Wisconsin and eloquently laid out his passion for the program, the school’s academic reputation and the importance of being near family.
“The reasons he chose Wisconsin resonated with Landon,” said Gauthier’s dad, Mitch. “I think that was instrumental in his decision-making. And for Landon, it’s an in-state school. What kid doesn’t dream of growing up and continuing their career to play for the Badgers?”
Gauthier left that meeting and walked into head coach Luke Fickell’s office, where he committed to be a member of Wisconsin’s 2024 recruiting class. Gauthier, a 6-foot-3 and 220-pound linebacker for Bay Port High, publicly announced his commitment Wednesday night and becomes the sixth known committed prospect in the class.
“Wisconsin showed me what they had to offer, and I can’t go wrong with them,” Gauthier said. “It shows that no matter where I end up, there will always be those academic opportunities. So I’m going to take advantage of that for sure here with the business school and everything that Wisconsin has to offer. You really get out of it what you put into it.”
Home sweet home 🦡🦡 #committed pic.twitter.com/FtP4jxMfZb
— Landon Gauthier (@landon_gauthier) April 12, 2023
Fickell has made it clear that, despite not having anyone on staff with significant recruiting ties to Wisconsin, maintaining the best players in the state will be a top priority. He now has commitments from three in-state players in the 2024 class. Gauthier joins Waunakee tight end Rob Booker and Hartland Arrowhead offensive lineman Derek Jensen.
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Three four-star in-state prospects remain uncommitted, according to the 247Sports Composite: running back Corey Smith and offensive linemen Donovan Harbour and Nathan Roy. Wisconsin’s three out-of-state commits are four-star tight end Grant Stec (Algonquin, Ill.), four-star quarterback Mabrey Mettauer (The Woodlands, Texas) and three-star outside linebacker Thomas Heiberger (Sioux Falls, S.D.).
Gauthier received his first scholarship offer from Wyoming in September. FCS powerhouse North Dakota State offered a few days later. Minnesota, Syracuse and Ohio extended offers in January before Gauthier made his junior day visit to Wisconsin, which resulted in the Badgers offering him as well. He had visited campus for three Wisconsin games last season.
“On the junior day visit, the energy was 10 times more,” Gauthier said. “It was just energetic. It was a different crowd. Just the recruiting and the coaches were a lot more enthusiastic about me being there.”
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Gauthier appeared to be closing in on a scholarship offer from Wisconsin under the previous staff before Fickell was brought in. Former Wisconsin assistant coaches Bobby April and Mark D’Onofrio, who moved on to Stanford this offseason, thought highly enough of Gauthier to offer him a scholarship there in February. But the pull of home was significant, as was Fickell’s approach. Bay Port football coach Gary Westerman said it didn’t take long for Fickell and his staff to see that Gauthier was the right fit.
“Coach was up here right away, which obviously speaks a lot,” Westerman said. “We’ve had kids that have played there, so I’m sure they target those schools. He was just really impressive to me in his personal behavior, the way that he continued to communicate with me personally and when Landon went down on the visit and got the offer. It just never really felt like Landon was going to leave the state and go somewhere else to play.”
Gauthier finished his junior season with 70 tackles, nine tackles for loss, one sack, one fumble recovery and an interception. He has played as an outside linebacker for Bay Port, but Westerman said coaches will move him to inside linebacker as a senior as he prepares to play that position at Wisconsin for defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Mike Tressel.
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Westerman, who coached former Wisconsin and current NFL fullback Alec Ingold, said Gauthier’s length, strength, explosiveness, intelligence and leadership qualities stood out to Tressel. There is also a lot of untapped potential for Gauthier given that he hasn’t played the position Tressel will use him at in college.
“He really loves my length,” Gauthier said. “My length and my ability to move. He thinks I’d be a great fit. He’s going to be sending me a lot up the gut, blitzing. I love the sound of that. I think it’d be a great fit for me as well.
“I like the idea of playing inside linebacker. It’s a lot more involvement. You really have to be in charge of everybody in the defense. You’ve got to know everybody’s position and their assignments. It’s a big step up, but it’s nothing that I can’t handle.”
Gauthier initially planned to take a few official visits in June and commit later in the summer. But he couldn’t be happier with his change of plans.
“There’s no need to go anywhere else,” Gauthier said. “I know what I want.”
(Photo: Courtesy of Landon Gauthier)
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