There won’t be any mistaking who Sam Madden is related to when he arrives at the University of Wisconsin in 2015.
Madden, a 6-foot-7 offensive tackle from Barnegat, N.J., gave an oral commitment to UW on Sunday as part of the 2015 freshman class.
He is a first cousin of John Moffitt, who played center and guard for the Badgers from 2007 to 2010. Moffitt was known as much for his sense of humor as his play on the field — even as a two-time first-team All- Big Ten Conference selection in 2009 and 2010.
It turns out, Madden has a personality similar to Moffitt’s, which should have media members in Wisconsin counting down the days until Madden arrives.
“They have some very similar character traits and then some different,” said Dave Madden, who is Sam’s dad. “Sam has the same type of sense of humor, he’s very outgoing.”
Sam Madden and Moffitt weren’t especially close growing up, mostly due to the age difference and the lack of free time Moffitt had in college and the NFL.“I’ll be honest,” said Dave Madden. “Once you start football at Wisconsin, or any other top program, you’re lucky to be home two weeks out of the year.
“In the last seven or eight years, we only saw John once or twice a year. It’s always good and I’d talk to John every few months and (Sam and John) would text a little bit.”
Sam Madden was closer to Dave Moffitt, who is John’s dad.
“Dave (Moffitt) for years has always been a great encouragement to Sam,” Dave Madden said. “They talk three or four times a week and text each other. We spent lot of time with them as a family.”
Sam Madden was not expecting to commit over the weekend. But things went so well on Saturday, he decided he didn’t want to wait and told UW coach Gary Andersen on Sunday morning.
“It was different than the visits we’ve had at other schools,” said Dave Madden, whose son has 24 offers. “It was a lot more in-depth. It wasn’t all about the razzle-dazzle. It’s like one of the coaches said to me, ‘This is a blue-collar school’ and that appeals to Sam. … It stood out from the other schools we’ve been to.”
Dave Madden said UW offensive line coach T.J. Woods and other coaches were encouraging Sam not to commit until he was absolutely sure.
“Coach Woods is a pretty intense guy and he really wasn’t pushing hard,” Dave Madden said. “He spent his time telling Sam about Wisconsin football, the atmosphere of the line and their expectations and the commitment everybody has. I think that really meant a lot to Sam. He really took the time to tell him what it was like at Wisconsin.”
As a high school freshman, Sam Madden was diagnosed with having obsessive compulsive disorder, as well as Tourette syndrome.
“That’s been a huge thing for him,” Dave Madden said. “That hits you when you’re hitting puberty. It hit him like a ton of bricks as a freshman. His freshman year academically was brutal, he had a 1.8 (grade-point average). He had no therapy, no medication, no help.”
At the end of his freshman year, Sam got with the right doctor, the right counselor and he flourished. His overall GPA has since gone up to 3.0, according to Dave Madden, with a core GPA in the “upper twos.”
“Obsessive compulsive affects everything you do,” Dave Madden said. “When (Sam) is all excited, sometimes, he has a bad stutter and can’t even talk, because he’s so pumped up and his mind is racing 100 miles an hour.
“It makes it hard academically because you’ve got to be calm and focused. He had to work extremely hard to get those grades up and keep them up.”
Dave Madden said his son also has a problem with some relationships, because of Sam’s intensity.
“No 14-year-old wants to hear another 14-year-old come up say, ‘Quit goofing off in practice, we’re here to work,’ “Dave Madden said. “They are looking at him like, ‘Who are you?’ “
Despite those obstacles, the UW coaches felt comfortable enough to offer Sam a year ago, when he was only a sophomore.
“That was a huge commitment to offer a sophomore to a program like Wisconsin,” Dave Madden said. “That meant a lot to us.”
Dave Madden said his son has always been eager to play college football. Because of Sam’s medical conditions, he tends to get along better with older players.
“He takes it so seriously and he’s so intense about (football),” Dave Madden said. “Most kids his age are not. I’ve always said to him, ‘I don’t think you are going to fully gel until you get to college because you’re going to be playing with kids that are as intense as you are.’ “
Comments are closed.