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Apple Valleyís Joran officially becomes a BadgerPosted: 2/8/02 by Todd Abeln Joran signed a national letter of intent to play football at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With his parents, Joe and Marie, at his side, Joran signed his name to the papers and officially became a Badger. Joran announced his intentions to go to Wisconsin before his senior season, so the signing was just a formality. He choose Wisconsin over Illinois, Boston College, Minnesota and Northwestern. The middle linebacker felt Madison was the place for him. ìWhen I went down there and met the coaches, each individually, theyíre all experienced. They were more approachable and personable,î he said. ìAfter I visited them and talked to the people, everything just kind of clicked. Everything felt just right there.î Joran only took two official visits to college campuses. He visited Wisconsin and Illinois. He said after his early commitment, many schools backed away from him. His first experience in Madison was the Badgersí summer football camp. ìIf I didnít go to it, I donít think I would have gotten a scholarship,î Joran said. But the start of the camp wasnít great for Joran. At the beginning of the camp, the players were broken into groups by position. Joran went to the wrong group and had trouble finding where his group was. After getting lost, he found an equipment manager who helped him find his way to the correct camp. After committing to Wisconsin, Joran went out his senior season and proved that Wisconsinís commitment to him was no mistake. But after he verbally committed to Wisconsin, the athletic department and football program in Madison got hit with NCAA penalties. The penalties werenít serious enough for Joran to rethink his commitment. ìIt wasnít shaky enough where I was going to de-commit, but it made me wonder,î he said. ìOnce I learned all the rules and legalities of the penalties, I realized it wasnít a big thing.î Joran dominated the Lake Conference from his middle linebacker position. ìHe had a phenomenal season. Better than any linebacker we had,î Eagles head coach Mike Fritze said. ìHe dominated a lot of teams by himself. Heís a ferocious player.î Joran lead the Eagles in tackles and sacks his final season. According to Fritze, itís Joranís hard work that got him his scholarship. ìHe has a lot of natural ability and a lot of instincts at linebacker,î Fritze said. ìHe spent as much or more time in the weight room than anybody weíve had. Heís lived in there for the last four years.î Joran is going to have to spend some more time in the weight room before July, when he leaves for Madison. Thatís because at 225 pounds the Wisconsin coaches think he is a bit small to play linebacker in the Big Ten. The coaching staff at Wisconsin told him they would like to see him gain 10 pounds. The coaches all told Joran that his position is middle linebacker, not safety or elsewhere on the field. ìHeís plenty big. He could play at the weight heís at now,î Fritze said. ìTeams are not playing big linebackers. They want speed and heís got great speed.î The athletic Joran fits into the changing scheme at Wisconsin of getting more athletic players. Joran, a civil engineer major, was also told he may play a bit as a freshman. ìThey told me I have the ability to play on special teams and stuff,î Joran said. ìI think I have the chance to play, but itís not a big rush and itís not my main goal. If it happens, it happens. Iíll enjoy it there.î © Thisweek Newspapers |
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