Wyoming nose tackle Gavin Meyer, a Franklin HS grad, chooses USC over Wisconsin, others

MADISON – Wisconsin’s search for help on the defensive line continues.

Veteran nose tackle Gavin Meyer, a graduate of Franklin High School who was considering UW among his transfer options, announced Wednesday he has committed to USC.

His top four choices were USC, UW, California and Illinois.

Barring injury, Meyer will face UW when the Badgers visit USC on Sept. 28.

Franklin coach Louis Brown had a succinct message for the coaches who were recruiting Meyer out of the transfer portal.

“I just told them that whoever gets him is going to be pretty lucky,” Brown said.

Meyer, 6-foot-4 and 285 pounds, played four seasons at Wyoming.

He played in a combined nine games in 2020 and 2021 before becoming a significant contributor the last two seasons.

Meyer played in 13 games in 2022 and finished with 40 tackles, including 20 solos. He had four sacks and five tackles for loss.

Last season Meyer again played in 13 games and finished with 26 tackles, including 13 solos. He had 3½ tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries.

Brown, who joined the Franklin staff as an assistant in 1992 and has been head coach since 2001, raved about Meyer.

“I’ve been at Franklin for a long time,” Brown said, “and I would say he is the best defensive player I’ve ever coached.”

Meyer worked at defensive end in high school but also played inside at times.

“He has got a tremendous nose for the ball,” Brown said. “He has a tremendous get-off. Great hands. Great balance.”

As a senior at Franklin, Meyer led the state in sacks (22) and tackles for loss (52).

“His high school stats were unbelievable,” Brown said.

His offer list was modest, however, in part because he weighed about 245.

Meyer’s offer list included Wyoming, Buffalo, Air Force, Ball State, Eastern Michigan and Navy.

“I was surprised he didn’t have more going on coming out of high school, to be honest,” Brown said. “When we faced Muskego, they had Hunter Wohler. That is a guy you worried about. You’ve got to plan against those guys. That is how Gavin was. You had to plan for him. …

"He just wants to play really good competition his last year and see where he belongs and to see (whether) he has a shot at the next level.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wyoming's Gavin Meyer, a Franklin HS grad, chooses USC over Wisconsin