Recruiting never sleeps. For college coaches, high school athletes, and the college football media, year-round recruiting has become a way of life. Rumors start, recruiting sites predict where they feel athletes will end up, coaches spend hours on the road tracking in-state and out-of-state talent, and ultimately schools build their futures. It has become nearly impossible to hide offers, decisions, and your process from interested fans and media members as a highly-ranked recruit in the era of social media. 2021 DB Al Ashford III somehow pulled off a Wisconsin commitment that not only shocked Badger coaches, fans, and the media, but even his own parents. It all started in the parking lot of Cherry Creek High School in Colorado with a simple question: “Do you play football?”
Wisconsin OLB Coach Bobby April, one of the lead Badger recruiters, travelled to Colorado to recruit a top UW target in March. No, that target was not named Al Ashford. Instead, the Badgers were going after Ashford’s Cherry Creek High School teammate 2021 TE Gunnar Helm, a four-star prospect who ultimately chose Texas. After practice, April went looking for Helm to catch up and saw him standing next to a friend. Not knowing who his friend was, but seeing a 6-foot-2, 180 pound kid talking to the key Badger target, April asked who he was and if he played football.
“I am Al Ashford, the corner.”
“You’re a corner? You’re the 4.4 flat?” responded a clearly taken aback Coach April. Ashford was a lot bigger than the Wisconsin OLB coach was expecting, and had just gone through a year-long growth spurt where he went from 5-foot-8 to 6-foot-2.
“Yessir,” responded Ashford.
After seeing Ashford in person, April went on to have a conversation with him in the Cherry Creek High School coaches office, and the two have stayed in contact ever since that day in March.
Hard work and perseverance matter most for both a prospect and a recruiter, but it was just being in the right place at the right time for both April and Ashford that led to the Colorado DB landing in Madison. Following their initial meeting, Ashford remained in contact with April, and was introduced to DC Jim Leonhard.
Despite the continued contact between Ashford and Wisconsin, the three-star recruit did not let anybody know the Badgers were even on his radar through the summer months. “I was keeping everybody in the dark. and everybody was making their guesses,” Ashford recalled. “There was nobody guessing the Badgers.”
An official Wisconsin offer came in on September 1, and as an expected early enrollee at whatever school he would inevitably choose, the Colorado DB wanted to make his decision in a timely fashion. Predictions poured in once Ashford set his commitment date of Friday, September 11. Kansas State and Colorado were the two most likely picks from 247Sports, Rivals, and a host of insiders. The latter made sense to insiders as an in-state pick given that Ashford is extremely close with his family, who have supported him all the way throughout his football journey.
“My parents have never missed a football game of mine,” Ashford told BadgersWire.
Yet, when the time came in front of a TV livestream to make his decision, even his parents were shocked. Nobody knew about his Wisconsin offer, let alone thought he would choose to attend Madison.
“They officially offered on September 1 and I didn’t say anything to anybody. I kept it in the dark. Right after they offered, I got three power five offers the day before I was supposed to commit. My own mom and dad didn’t know where I was going.”
The secrecy went so far, that in his preview graphic of schools he was deciding between, a picture that included over 15 schools, Wisconsin was nowhere to be seen.
There are many schools in this graphic. We don't see Wisconsin but Ashford is headed to the #Badgers. You don't see this kind of surprise in the modern age of covering recruiting very often. https://t.co/ltXi3emCge
— Asher Low (@alow_33) September 12, 2020
The decision to pull out a hand sanitizer bottle (love the hygiene) with a Wisconsin Badger sticker on it to announce his commitment was one, however, that went further beyond just the March meeting in a parking lot.
Growing up in Rochester, NY, Ashford idolized the Wisconsin style of football.
“Wisconsin was always a dream school. It was a place I could always see myself playing at. Growing up in Rochester, NY, they always loved that ‘beat em up’ style of football and Wisconsin always had that. It was great that it got to work out the way it did.”
After moving to Colorado and beginning his high school career at one of the top programs in the Centennial State, Badger connections started to plant a seed about potentially landing in Madison. Two of the most recent division one DB’s out of Colorado both ended up at Wisconsin. 2020 Badger signee Max Lofy, and rising junior CB Deron Harrell are both Centennial State natives who Ashford III had become close to before deciding to attend UW.
“Deron Harrell and Max Lofy are friends of mine. When I got to Colorado, I got really close with those guys. There are not too many power five DB’s coming out of Colorado and a lot of us work out together in the offseason. It is a blessing to be in this position and have those guys as mentors.”
They also helped Ashford get a better sense of the school, as he was not able to visit due to COVID-19. “I never got to take a visit because of COVID, and I was a virtual visit guy. I did have FaceTime calls with those guys (Harrell and Lofy).”
One of the final factors in his decision to shock the world and pick the Badgers? A call from his Grandma that helped to solidify his thoughts.
“My grandma calls me before I am committing and says, ‘hey, I think you should go somewhere that nobody is expecting you to go.’ I said, huh, maybe.”
After he announced his decision on the YouTube livestream reveal, his parents were the most shocked people in the room.
“I remember after I announced I was taking my talents to Wisconsin, my mom said, ‘Wisconsin?’ with not a cheer, nothing, just silence after,” recalls Ashford. It did not take long for his parents to come around to his choice, and they immediately started looking at direct flights from Denver to Madison. Ashford’s dad even went out and picked up a Badger shirt that he wore proudly around the house while declaring that he was a “#Badgerdad.”
We’re ready Badger fans! The Ashford’s are headed to Madison❤️🤍❤️🤍🦡#BadgerDad pic.twitter.com/OKMZXIwKDw
— Al Leon Ashford III (@ashford_iii) September 13, 2020
Ashford’s parents were not the only ones left in the dark. The Colorado corner did not call Wisconsin coaches until after his decision was publicly announced to let them know he would be attending UW.
“After I committed I called coach Leonhard and told them. They didn’t know I was coming either. I kept everybody in the dark.”
So, who is Wisconsin getting in the star corner? As a player, Ashford has been tasked with guarding top receivers throughout his high school career at Cherry Creek.
“I am a player that can play anywhere in the secondary and I do feel I am one of the premier lockdown boundary corners in my class. A lot of guys are athletes or play different spots, but I have truly guarded number ones my entire career.”
Now that the word is out, Ashford has one clear goal as a Badger, a goal shared by the rest of his 2021 class: winning a national championship.
“I don’t care if they throw me at place holder, kicker. I don’t care as long as we are winning football games. I have only lost two games in my high school career and I plan on continuing that as a Badger. I want to win a national championship.”
Wisconsin not only landed a commitment from Ashford in the most shocking fashion you will see in modern day recruiting, but also scored an on the rise corner who is ready to do whatever it takes to help this program compete at the highest level. There could be many more surprises down the road from the three-star corner in Madison.
