2021 OLB Darryl Peterson '100% Wisconsin' After Commitment

“I've been there three times, so from the first time, second time, and the third time, it all felt the same. It felt like family and it felt like home."

According to Darryl Peterson, it is hard to tell exactly when he realized he wanted to commit to Wisconsin, but he knows it was a few weeks ago. The Akron (OH) Archbishop Hoban product had a plan, but wanted to keep it all a secret and be a surprise.

Was it hard to keep under wraps?

"It wasn't hard at all," Peterson said with a laugh on Wednesday afternoon.

Then on Sunday, the day before Peterson publicly announced his commitment to the Badgers' 2021 class, he decided to tell a few members of the UW coaching staff. On that Zoom call, he chatted with head coach Paul Chryst, offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph and outside linebackers coach Bobby April III.

According to Peterson, "the vibe was crazy."

"They were all smiles. I feel like they knew what I was going to do beforehand," Peterson said. "We were all on Zoom two minutes and for two minutes straight, there were just three big smiles looking back at me. 

"It was great though. They were really excited. ... They said they can’t wait until I come down there, and I'm excited too, so it was just all great.”

All Glory to the man above!!! #Committed pic.twitter.com/42LDCywEMm

— Darryl Peterson (@_DPETERSON10) June 1, 2020

Peterson became Wisconsin's 12th public commitment for the class of 2021 when he tweeted his decision on Monday. 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN all designate him as a three-star recruit.

247Sports composite rankings currently hold Peterson as the No. 503 player overall and No. 31 weak-side defensive end in the nation for this upcoming recruiting cycle. 

According to "The Buckeye State" product, he chose the Big Ten program because it felt like family.

“I've been there three times, so from the first time, second time, and the third time, it all felt the same. It felt like family and it felt like home," Peterson said. "I'm an Ohio guy. I'm not too, too far (away from Madison), so I'm used to all the cold weather and stuff like that, and it’s stuff that I enjoy as well. I love winter and snow."

Peterson then boasted about the city of Madison, saying "from top to bottom, everything is beautiful" and noted "you can't beat playing in the Big Ten" Conference. He also discussed April, who will be his position coach when he gets to UW as an outside linebacker. 

“I feel like Coach April, he's a great developer, man," Peterson said. "He's gonna get (me) where I need to be, and I feel like they're super close to winning the national championship, and I want to be a part of a special history down there.”

Rivals reports 13 offers for the 6'3, 235-pound Peterson, and in March, he announced a top three of Alabama, West Virginia and Wisconsin. That was before an offer from Michigan came later that month.

As he told AllBadgers.com in May, he was slated to visit all four schools in the month of June before the NCAA extended the recruiting dead period in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Peterson now joins a Badgers class of 2021 that includes 12 other players after defensive lineman Mike Jarvis announced his decision to commit on Wednesday afternoon. According to the future 'backer, he told his soon-to-be teammates about his decision before it went public.

“They kind of knew a couple of days before," Peterson admitted. "I told all the guys, man. They're excited, I'm excited, and it was a lot of love being thrown around.”

As Peterson told AllBadgers.com, "Everything is done. I'm 100% Wisconsin." 

Now he can concentrate on preparing for his senior season with Archbishop Hoban, a program that won back-to-back state titles in 2017 and 2018.

A year ago, Peterson boasted first-team all-state honors, and as noted by multiple publications, he accumulated a single-season program-record 21 sacks. The standout edge rusher stated he started training with his high school teammates on Monday.

"It's been great, man. The only difference is we got to sanitize," Peterson said. "A lot of sanitizing, a lot of social distancing, but it's fun. It's good to see the guys. I'm happy to be back with them and working with them so it's been great."