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Wisconsin offers a talented 2023 tight end from St. Louis

The Badgers offered tight end Zach Ortwerth on Tuesday afternoon.

Matt Belz

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Still looking for a tight end in the 2023 recruiting class, the Wisconsin Badgers took a big step Tuesday afternoon by offering Zach Ortwerth of Saint Louis University High School in Missouri. 

At 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, Ortwerth is rated as a three-star prospect and represents one of the better tight ends in the Midwest. 

With the offer, Wisconsin joins Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, Memphis, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Purdue, and West Virginia in contention for his commitment. 

Ortwerth has already visited Iowa multiple times and recently took unofficial visits to Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Pitt this spring, so it will be interesting to see how quickly the Badgers can work to get him on campus. Iowa is the perceived favorite early on, so Wisconsin will need to make up ground this spring and summer. 

However, the Badgers may have an in with Ortwerth though. He is a high school teammate of wide receiver commit Chris Brooks Jr., who signed with Wisconsin in the 2022 recruiting class and will join the team this summer. Brooks took to Twitter to congratulate Ortwert on the offer and said, "see you tomorrow, bud." 

Playing both offense and defense for his high school team, Ortwerth brings some physicality to the tight end position, and on film, he appears to be a willing blocker. While he will need to add weight to his 6-foot-5 frame at the next level, he displays nice hands for the position in his junior highlights. 

Ortwerth had 20 receptions for 298 yards and four touchdowns on offense last season. He also added 76 tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble as an outside linebacker. He carries a 3.8 GPA and was an Academic All-State honoree for his work in the classroom. 

Ortwerth is now one of two uncommitted tight ends with an offer from the Badgers, joining Jackson Carver of Indiana. Carver visited Madison this spring and is another player to watch this summer during the official visit window. 

For now, it appears as though Ortwerth and Carver are the top options at tight end heading into the summer. 

You can watch Ortwerth's junior film below...

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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