Hayden Biegel recognizes the college football recruiting process can be enough to floor even the most levelheaded high school standouts. With so many scholarship offers and promises of playing time, whittling down to a single college choice isn't always easy.
Good thing for Biegel he had some help along the way to know exactly what he'd be undertaking.
Biegel, a senior-to-be at Wisconsin Rapids High School, committed to play on the offensive line for the University of Wisconsin last week. And he didn't have to look far to find an example of how to handle himself on the recruiting trail.
Only months earlier, his highly touted older brother, Vince, had committed to play linebacker at Wisconsin in the fall.
"I would definitely say it factored in my decision," Hayden Biegel said. "When Vince was going through the process, he was offered by a lot of schools. It was kind of like a recruiting experience for me, too."
While Vince Biegel received 10 scholarship offers, Hayden Biegel selected Wisconsin over offers from North Dakota, Illinois, Iowa State, Michigan State and Iowa.
"When I got offered to Wisconsin, immediately I would say Wisconsin was my No. 1 choice," Hayden Biegel said. "I would say being an in-state kid definitely played a big role in it, too."
The Biegel name resonates with football fans in the state of Wisconsin, and not strictly because of Vince and Hayden. Their father, Rocky Biegel, played linebacker at Brigham Young University from 1988-91. Their uncle, T.D. Biegel, played fullback at BYU from 1992-94.
Hayden Biegel, at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, is the biggest in the family — Vince, by comparison, is 6-3 and 205 pounds.
Wisconsin Rapids football coach Tony Biolo described Hayden Biegel's intensity level as an asset that separates him from peers at the high school level in addition to his strength.
"He's an offensive lineman that has a nasty streak," Biolo said. "I think that helps. He plays between the whistles and everything, but he's a pretty intense kid. I think he's got a grit, a toughness about him that doesn't always come naturally. A lot of times you see big guys, but they're not tough. He's always been real tough mentally and physically."
Although Biegel, rated a three-star offensive lineman by Scout.com, is big for the high school level, he said he had a long way to go to reach a reasonable playing weight in college. Biegel agreed to a grayshirt offer at Wisconsin, meaning he'll skip the fall semester and will not enroll until January 2014.
During that time, he intends on gaining considerable mass.
"I can't even think of one year that Wisconsin doesn't have the best offensive line in the Big Ten," Biegel said. "It's going to be a lot to live up to. That was one of the main reasons I grayshirted, just so I can gain about 50 more pounds. I want to get to 300. I'm constantly taking protein shakes and working on it everyday."
Last season, Wisconsin's offensive linemen averaged 6-5, 322 pounds — the fifth-heaviest offensive line in college or pro football.
In addition to gaining strength, Biegel's biggest area of improvement likely will take place in pass protection because of how few repetitions he sees in his high school games. Wisconsin Rapids is a predominantly run-oriented team.
The Red Raiders finished last season 12-2, losing in the WIAA Division 1 state championship game, 7-0, against Kenosha Bradford. In that game, Wisconsin Rapids ran the ball 38 times and passed on 11 occasions.
"All our team runs now is triple option and we pass about six times a game," Biegel said. "I would say pass protection is the No. 1 key for me right now. And then just gaining weight will help me, too, to anchor myself down and be able to take some D ends."
Biolo believes Biegel's commitment to Wisconsin could serve as motivation for him to show his worth during his senior season of high school and understand not to take plays off.
"He could and should manhandle quite a few people, but he shouldn't just rest on that," Biolo said. "When some big guys come up against a guy of equal size, you might see them struggle. I think that's going to be his challenge is to improve himself no matter who he's going against."
Wisconsin currently has nine commitments in the Class of 2013 and is expected to take two or three more players. Current commitments are: Biegel, linebacker Garrett Dooley (Rochester, Ill.), offensive lineman Jack Keeler (Barrington, Ill.), defensive end Chikwe Obasih (Brookfield, Wis.), wide receiver Jazz Peavy (Kenosha, Wis.), linebacker Austin Ramesh (Eagle River, Wis.), defensive tackle Sam Raridon (West Des Moines, Iowa), tight end T.J. Watt (Pewaukee, Wis.) and wide receiver Rob Wheelwright (Columbus, Ohio).
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