The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Fourqurean
“I'm pretty excited,” Fourqurean told The NewsHerald. “You know, coming from Mentor, you know the Big Ten and the football they play there. To have this opportunity is amazing. It's a blessing.
“Humbly, I always felt I was a Division I player. I always felt I was meant to be on this stage and I feel I've earned it.”
Fourqurean is coming off a sophomore season in which he totaled 28 tackles to go with four interceptions and 14 pass breakups. After starring on the Division II level, he said he is ready to take his talents to the Power 5 sector of college football, a place he felt he belonged all along.
“I know I'm going to have to prove myself again,” he said. “I'm going to take it and run with it and continue to prove myself right and prove everyone else wrong. I know I'm the underdog story.”
At Wisconsin, Fourqurean reunites with former Grand Valley State coach Matt Mitchell, who was hired as the Badgers' outside linebackers coach this offseason. Fourqurean said his relationship with Mitchell played a big role in him decommitting from Vanderbilt and pledging to join Wisconsin.
“Coach (Mitchell) didn't want to be the person to take me away from Grand Valley,” Fourqurean said. “When (Wisconsin) saw I had committed to Vanderbilt, someone from the staff reached out to me and I told
them I was interested.
“I've been in contact with all the coaches at Wisconsin. Coach Mitchell was my head coach at Grand Valley. That played a big role
in my decision. I have a trust with him and he has a trust with me. … To decommit from Vanderbilt would have taken the right situation, and this was the right situation.”
Fourqurean hasn't visited Wisconsin yet, but plans to this coming week. He plans to major in sports management and will have three years of eligibility remaining.
When asked what Wisconsin is getting, Fourqurean said, “anybody who sees my tape will see my passion for the game. I'm an energetic player and very instinctive. A ballhawk. Along with my length and physicality, I'm not afraid to come up and hit people.”
His arrival at Wisconsin is important in that a
trio of Badger cornerbacks — Al Ashford II, Avyonne Jones and A'Koury Lyde — entered the transfer portal much like Fourqurean did.
Growing up in Northeast Ohio, Fourqurean admitted he grew up as an Ohio State fan. He said it's “crazy” that he'll get to play against the team he grew up following on Oct. 28 in Camp Randall Stadium.
He said he will be enrolling and starting workouts as soon as possible and is eager to be a Badger.
“I don't know the words to ‘Jump Around yet,'” he said of the hit song by House of Pain blared at Camp Randall Stadium before the fourth quarter, “but I will learn it. I can't wait to get started and be part of that program and culture. I seriously can't wait.”