Troy Fumagalli makes verbal commitment to Wisconsin
By Rick Armstrong rarmstrong@stmedianetwork.com September 13, 2012 4:24PM
Waubonsie senior captain Troy Fumagalli (9) has made a verbal commitment to the University of Wisconsin. | John Konstantaras~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: October 15, 2012 9:57AM
Waubonsie Valley standout Troy Fumagalli has chosen to continue his football career in the Big Ten Conference at the University of Wisconsin.
“He verbally committed to them (Tuesday) night,” Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy said. “I’ve known for some time that was the place he wanted to go. He went to a summer camp, was up there last spring and then went on a recruiting visit for their opener against Northern Iowa.”
Badgers defensive coordinator Chris Ashe recruited the 6-foot-6, 225-pound senior who plays tight end and defensive end for the 3-0 Warriors.
“I decided to commit because Wisconsin is a great place with a winning tradition,” Fumagalli said. “It’s a place that I can see myself succeed at. After my visit I knew that Wisconsin was the best fit for me. And my family actually felt the same way about it.”
The Badgers weren’t his only Big Ten suitors.
“Madison is a place he was very interested in,” said Murphy, who noted that Illinois and Minnesota had also recruited Fumagalli. He also had scholarship offers from Northern Illinois and Ball State of the MAC.
“He did call Illinois and Minnesota to let them know he had the offer from Wisconsin but they didn’t jump. Wisconsin, though, was the place he wanted to go anyway. It’s a good fit for him academically.”
The Badgers project him as “an Ace back, kind of a moving tight end who can also split out,” Murphy said.
“He’s probably going to put on 25-30 more pounds with no problem. He’ll be a solid 240-250. There’s room to grow. He doesn’t even shave yet.”
Fumagalli has caught 10 passes for 154 yards with one touchdown this season and has been involved in 13 tackles (6 solo) on defense with one tackle-for-loss, one pass breakup and one QB hurry. Last season, he caught 12 passes for 203 yards and two TDs.
“The visit was awesome, Wisconsin’s game day atmosphere was really crazy,” Fumagalli said. “I got there and I met with Coach Ash and he showed us around Camp Randall and then he introduced me to some of the other coaches.”
Murphy noted that Fumagalli will be the third former Warrior on a Big Ten roster next fall, joining Indiana redshirt junior kicker Mitch Ewald and Northwestern redshirt freshman super back Mark Szott.
“I can’t get out to their games until usually very late in the year, but the Big Ten teams are always on TV so it’s fun to see those kids play,” the coach said.
“Mark is in Northwestern’s goal-line package and Ewald is Indiana’s starter.”
Beth Long contributed
