Moorman could arrive early

Northville, Mich., offensive tackle David Moorman has made numerous visits to Wisconsin before and since his commitment to the Badgers last spring, but several factors distinguished this past weekend's official visit from previous trips.

One development that emerged is the possibility of the 6-foot-5, 291-pound Moorman starting his Wisconsin career earlier than expected.

"We're talking about potentially graduating early. That has come up a lot because they lost a lineman due to injury and are short for spring ball. They said I have a chance to come in and compete now. So, there is a chance I might do the early enroll thing, but I don't know yet because I still have to figure it out with my school and my family."

After his discussion with the Wisconsin coaches this weekend, Moorman expects to come in and start out at right tackle.

The other distinguishing feature of Moorman's official visit was being in the crowd when running back Melvin Gordon set the NCAA record for rushing yards in a game.

"Every game I have been to this year has been a lot of fun and a great atmosphere," Moorman said, "but this game was later and with the time change it got dark pretty fast. It kind of turned into a night game, which was pretty sweet. Then it started snowing which added to the (atmosphere).

"At the end of the first quarter everything was kind of going wrong for us, but we turned it around really fast and just started dominating. The entire stadium was electric. The entire fan base was banded together with the team and we all felt like one, big community.

"The thing that capped it off was right before "Jump Around" in the third quarter Melvin set the record so it was an extra-long (celebration). Melvin and the offensive line had an unreal performance. The defense was playing good and the offensive line was doing work. It was just an unreal game."

The remainder of the weekend Moorman spent with his player-hosts, Michael Deiter and T.J. Edwards.

"Michael comes from an area similar where I'm from, so he was just giving me the run down of what it is like coming in as a freshman and what I need to work on now to get ready for college," Moorman said. "He was a great host and I think we're going to be pretty good friends when I get up there."

Moorman has been solid with his commitment to Wisconsin since making the decision last May, but the official visit heightened his anticipation for arriving in Madison full-time.

"It was an unreal weekend," he said. "It was nice to get up there and get some VIP treatment."