His Prep Career Complete, Max Lofy Looks to Next Level with Wisconsin

By his indications, Max Lofy is done with high school. With his classes finished for about a week to a week-and-a-half already, the Colorado Spring (CO) Pine Creek student-athlete stated he dropped off his textbooks on Wednesday, and he can now check off that proverbial box that has been a key part of his football (and life) journey.

Up ahead comes Wisconsin, a school Lofy committed to last July as part of the 2020 class. Though he does not know exactly when he will head to Madison at this time, he continues to work in some weightlifting combined with footwork training.

Lofy has also been speaking with defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard quite a bit.

"We've had some Zoom calls, just kind of getting me prepared to come into Wisconsin," Lofy told AllBadgers.com on Wednesday afternoon. "Going over the freshman package, just the base defenses kind of deal. I've had some strength coaches call me to just kind of help me out with any questions I have for getting ready for camp or whatnot. So yeah, I've been talking to those two groups, mostly."

According to Lofy, a three-star cornerback by 247Sports and Rivals, the relationship with Leonhard has developed more after he signed in December as part of the class of 2020. With the transition between being a recruit to a signed player, he feels it has become "more real in that sense" and has been able to see who the former walk-on turned All-American, NFL veteran and college assistant really is as a person and a coach.

That being said, Lofy believes he has always had a relationship with Wisconsin in general. His father is a former resident of Platteville in the southwestern part of the state, and his mom comes from Monroe, about an hour south of the state capital.

"I've always been drawn to UW-Madison whether it's been football or just kind of the city of Madison itself," Lofy said. "So it kind of all started way back then, but I guess football-wise, it started back in May of my junior year when he first contacted me.

"Then, I don't know, I was very drawn to his type of personality, kind of more laid back and knowledgeable."

Lofy eventually took three officials last year before making his decision -- one to Oklahoma State, one to Big Ten rival Minnesota, and then to Wisconsin. On that June trip to Madison, he was also there on the same weekend as outside linebacker Kaden Johnson and inside linebacker Preston Zachman, both of whom would eventually orally commit to the program.

"I really loved it," Lofy said. "It was cool to be able to get with some athletes like Kaden and Preston. I saw them, we linked up later in the visit. We toured campus for a little bit. Then, we toured the facilities, got to see the locker rooms and stuff, and then went over to Coach (Paul) Chryst's house and kind of chopped it up with some of the coaches and him. Then, we went and chilled with some of the players after that."

After the trip to Madison and the previous officials to Stillwater and the Twin Cities, it did not take too long for him to realize where he wanted to go.

"When I was able to get back home and just kind of sit down and reflect on all my visits, I decided I liked Wisconsin the most," Lofy said. "They have the best coaches, I felt at home in Madison. So I feel like probably about a week after I visited, I felt comfortable with choosing Wisconsin."

Lofy eventually announced his decision to suit up in cardinal and white on July 22. He joined Wisconsin's recruiting class of 2020 that holds 20 scholarship signees, and he is the only defensive back of the group.

When asked where UW sees him at the cornerback position, whether in the slot or on the outside, the Colorado native said that his future coordinator mentioned both the corner and nickel positions.

After taking home a state championship as a senior, he admitted his excitement with diving into the defensive scheme with Leonhard. The hope is to nail down the fundamentals of the defense so that when he gets to Wisconsin, he can understand the calls and the looks.

That being said, it is different seeing it all on paper compared to talking about and seeing it live and in person.

"So we'll kind of go over it, talk about it verbally, and then he'll have some film pulled up," Lofy said. "We'll actually be able to see, 'Look, this is what this coverage is. This is what this guy does in this call,' so it's been very helpful actually."