MADISON – By the time Will Zaccagnino made it to Wisconsin, he had been up and down the east coast and beyond.
From early March until late April, the defensive lineman from St. Joseph High School in Trumbull, Connecticut, visited nine schools.
He made stops at Army, Navy and Connecticut in March. In April, he trekked to Michigan State, Wake Forest, Duke and Missouri.
On April 20 he posted video of his visit to Penn State.
The next day he came to Wisconsin for a Tuesday practice and was sold. A week later Zaccagnino made it official, calling the Badgers to inform them of his commitment to the program just hours after Michigan State visited him at school to watch him work out.
Zaccagnino made his commitment public April 30.
“The word he kept saying is I feel like I’m at home when I’m there,” St. Joseph coach Joe Della Vecchia said.
Here is a look at the 6-foot-5, 270-pound defensive tackle through the eyes of his high school coach, a veteran of almost 30 seasons at St. Joseph.
Zaccagnino’s mental approach will be plus
Zaccagnino is a three-star prospect, according to 247sports and Rivals/On3. He is considered the No. 4 prospect in Connecticut by 247sports and holds the No. 5 spot in the state, per Rivals/On3.
He was a consensus all-state selection as a junior who finished with 47 tackles that included eight tackles for a loss and four sacks. Della Vecchia noted Zaccagnino’s nine pass deflections.
“I think that is outstanding because most of the teams are game planning away from him,” he said.
Zaccagnino lined up as a defensive end for St. Joseph, but Della Vecchia projects him a three-technique at the college level.
One of his strengths is his work ethic.
“From the time I told him after his freshman year he was going to be starting on varsity as a sophomore, he was up there working on his hands, on his feet, working on various moves and he’s constantly in motion,” Della Vecchia said. “He’s never standing around. Even in drills if he’s just finished a rep, he’s off the side working on something.”
Defensive linemen often enter the college ranks and disappear for a couple of years as they work their way up the depth chart. It is one of the game’s most developmental positions.
“He’s one of those guys that doesn’t walk through a rep just to do it. Everything has a purpose and meaning to it,” Della Vecchia said. “He wants to be coached. He wants to be critiqued all the time. He asks questions. He engages people. He’s genuine in everything he does. He wants to know ‘Am I doing this right?’”
Zaccagnino is light on his feet
Zaccagnino is the Badgers’ first high school recruit from Connecticut since linebacker Christian Alliegro signed as part of the 2023 class. And like Alliegro, who transferred to Ohio State during the offseason, Zaccagnino is a former lacrosse player.
He stopped playing the sport after his freshman season to focus on football training during the offseason. Nonetheless the experience speaks to him nimbleness.
“He’s got really good feet,” Della Vecchia said. “For a kid his size, he moves really well.”
Zaccagnino took his recruitment in own hands
Zaccagnino started as a sophomore and recorded 57 tackles, 22 solo and 11 for a loss for a team that won a state championship.
In August, Syracuse gave him his first scholarship offer. Wisconsin, which offered in early March, was his second Power Four offer and eighth overall.
Since then Zaccagnino picked up seven offers that included Illinois, Michigan State and Missouri. Why the uptick in interest?
Della Vecchia had a few theories.
1. Size: After a routine physical, Zaccagnino officially went from 6-4 to 6-5, which may have allowed him to meet some of the minimums some programs have for height at that position.
2. Momentum: Scholarship offers sometimes come in waves with one Power Four offer snowballing into others. “When the first big offer came in everybody else followed and said, who is this guy?” Della Vecchia said.
3. Hustle: Zaccagnino didn’t just let his play speak for him, he, with Della Vecchia’s help, marketed himself to prospective teams, sending his video to coaches in the Big Ten, ACC and Southeastern Conferences.
According to Della Vecchia, the Big Ten programs Zaccagnino initially contacted were Wisconsin, Michigan State, Iowa, Nebraska and later Michigan and Indiana.
“It was a combination of a lot of things, their style of play fit him, their program, the way it’s run and the kind of culture they have out there, the fan base and the stadium,” Della Vecchia said. “It’s kind of like things we preach here, very similar so I thought he would be attracted to that atmosphere and I thought they would be attracted to him because he seems like their kind of guy, their style of play guy.”
An NFL comparison for Will Zaccagnino
When it came to Zaccagnino’s game, Della Vecchia compared him to Connecticut native Zach Allen, who played at Boston College and plays for the Denver Broncos.
Allen is an end, but he had physical characteristics similar to Zaccagnino’s when he was in high school.
“I coached against him, and Will reminds me a lot of him,” Della Vecchia said. “He’s the size, the mannerisms and things like that and the inside tackle toughness.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A closer look at Wisconsin defensive line recruit Will Zaccagnino
Reporting by Mark Stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
