On the 3rd day of "The 12 Days of Recruits" we give you an All-American lineman. After looking at QB Bart Houtson and DT Arthur Goldberg we bring you our look into the commitment of guard Dan Voltz. He is one of 3 potential Badgers that will be playing in this year's U.S. Army All-American game down in San Antonio in January. So without further delay here is the scoop on one massive offensive lineman.
Dan Voltz Personal Stats:
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 290lbs.
Hometown/High School: Barrington, IL/Barrington HS
Commit Date: 3/15/2011
Rankings:
247sports: 4 stars, #33 (nationally), #2 (position), #1 (state) - also a 97 rating overall
Rivals: 4 stars, #153 (nationally), #5 (position), #5 (state) - he's a 5.8 out of 6.1 rating overall
Scout: 4 stars, no national rankings, #6 (position), no state rankings
My Thoughts:
When I first saw tape of this guy the first words that popped into my head were "Road Grader" and "Wow." He's a truly gifted offensive lineman and perhaps the most highly regarded guard we've had come to Wisconsin since John Moffitt committed to the Badgers. Rivals compares him to the Packers Pro Bowl left guard Josh Sitton if that gives you any help understanding this kids level of talent inside.
Voltz was selected to the U.S. Army All-American team and will be playing for the East squad. He's a big kid of course at 6'4" and 290lbs already and could be in the mix out of the gate to replace the graduating Kevin Zeitler at right guard.
For me the biggest things that stand out are that he finishes blocks, moves well to the 2nd level, and seems to have that nasty streak that Wisconsin interior lineman are known for already. He's also very smart and should be able to adapt to the offense at Wisconsin rather quickly.
He is also the earliest commit of anyone in this class, giving his verbal to the Badgers back in March of this year. As you'll see in the 2nd video posted below he tells you back just a few short months from now that he is a solid commit and why he loves Wisconsin.
The biggest question is can he get his weight up to the level needed to play at Wisconsin. Early indications are that he shouldn't have any problems getting up to that 300lbs. level and it will be interesting to see him battle out of the gate for that open position of right guard opposite Travis Frederick. His main competition will probably be Ryan Groy, if Peter Konz stays in Madison that is.
Helping him in winning that battle could be the fact that he is enrolling at Wisconsin this January. Putting him in the hands of the Badgers strength and conditioning team and allowing him a full spring to learn the offense can only pay dividends in the end. Interestingly he'll be rooming with fellow early enrollee RB Vonte Jackson.
Either way, look for him to have a major impact on this program for the long haul.
Videos:
Below you will see highlights of Dan Voltz from his Junior year as well as the interview conducted with him after the announcement of his selection ot the U.S. Army All-American squad. Enjoy and come back tomorow as we take a look at the very first recruit from in state. Which one will it be? You'll just have to come back and find out!!
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