Wisconsin legend J.J. Watt is impressed by a Badger true freshman

Wisconsin football’s annual ‘Squat Fest’ took place on Friday. The highly-publicized event had members of the media in attendance, who all shared social media clips of the impressive weightlifting feats.

One such clip came from BadgerExtra’s Jake Kocorowski. It is of true freshman running back Gideon Ituka easily squatting 545 pounds.

Relate d : Wisconsin’s all-time record against every Big Ten football team

The video mostly just circulated among Badgers fans on X. But Wisconsin legend and future NFL Hall of Fame defensive lineman J.J. Watt soon chimed in, impressed by the clip.

Ituka is a member of Wisconsin’s record-breaking class of 2024. He joins the program after being ranked as the No. 1,078 player in the class of 2025, No. 81 running back and No. 31 recruit from the state of Maryland.

The former three-star recruit was an early enrollee and has been on campus since January. Still, 545 on the squat rack is usually a number put up by a veteran player — or not put up at all.

Ituka is one of four running backs to join the program this offseason along with transfer Tawee Walker, and four-star recruits Dilin Jones and Darrion Dupree. The room looks to be loaded moving into the future, notably with players with different body types and running styles.

Early indications are that Ituka may be able to surpass his low-three-star recruiting ranking.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.