Bredeson sees the finish line

Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Wisconsin have long been atop Hartland (Wisc.) Arrowhead four-star offensive lineman Ben Bredeson's list, and a decision is not too far out in the future.

"Sometime over the summer would be perfect," Bredeson said of a decision. "More like right before the start of the season."

Alabama and Stanford had piqued Bredeson's interest in recent months, but the group of four that have stood out since early in the process are most likely destinations heading into the final months of his recruitment.

"I am pretty sure it is going to be one of those four that I am going to go to," Bredeson said. "No one has come in and no one has gone out, but it is more set now that it is going to be one of those four."

Of the four, Wisconsin is the most recent Bredeson has visited. He was in Madison for the Badger's spring game last month.

"It was a good trip," Bredeson said. "It was good to see the guys out in action and the coaches coach from the sidelines."

Wisconsin has told the 6-foot-4, 280-pound Bredeson he could project to either tackle, guard or center in their offensive scheme, and the visit gave him a better feel for how he would fit into the mix in Madison.

"Coach (Joe) Rudolph and I talked about the depth chart and where I fit in, the kind of guys they have now and the kind of guys they have leaving," Bredeson said. "The guys they have now who are going to be there when I am going to go there, he said they are all guys I could relate to easily. When I talked to them, I got that same feeling."

Bredeson already has his next visit planned and it will be to Michigan the weekend of May 29-30. His brother is a Michigan baseball commit in the class of 2015, and they plan to see both sports programs while in Ann Arbor.

"I think they have some games that weekend, so we are going to catch some baseball and do some football stuff as well," Bredeson said. "We haven't talked about the details at all yet, but I'm sure that will be coming in the next week or two."

The last visit Bredeson took to Michigan was last fall, which was before Jim Harbaugh took over as head coach.

"I want to meet the new staff," Bredeson said. "That is a big thing for me because I haven't met any in-person except for (Tim) Drevno and Greg Mattison, obviously. We'll see how it works from there and maybe get with some of the players, see how I fit with them. Then, go through the academic presentation one more time, see what's all going on there."

"It's a pretty big (visit). I am trying to tone things down and come to a decision soon, and I don't know how many more trips I'll be taking. (Michigan is) definitely solid in there, in the top group and one of the ones I am seriously considering. I really like it there and could see myself going there, so I just want to meet this new staff and see how everything goes."

Bredeson has also made visits to Notre Dame and Ohio State earlier in the process, and has seen each through his school during the spring evaluation period.

"I saw both (Notre Dame's Harry) Hiestand and (Ohio State's Ed) Warinner once," Bredeson said. "I've gotten both of my phone calls from them. I had some good talks with Coach (Urban) Meyer and Coach (Brian) Kelly. We just kind of made some small talk, then talked a little football."

Bredeson made a visit to South Bend in early April, and is looking to schedule something with Ohio State soon.

"There's a potential I'll go to Ohio State sometime over the summer, most likely in June, just to hang out there one, last time too," Bredeson said. "Notre Dame, I don't know yet. I still have to figure that out if I am going to head out there or not."

The No. 41 player in the Rivals100 for the 2016 class, Bredeson is also ranked as the No. 3 offensive tackle class-wide and the top prospect in the state of Wisconsin.