Amare Snowden to play college football at Wisconsin

ROSEVILLE — In front of a packed crowd at Roseville High School Dec. 21, Roseville senior wide receiver and defensive back Amare Snowden committed to the University of Wisconsin to continue his football career.

The four-star recruit’s commitment was broadcast live on the 247Sports Signing Day Show, and the live feed was flooded with cheers as Snowden grabbed the Wisconsin Badgers hat from the table in front of him.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound cornerback’s decision ultimately came down to West Virginia University and Wisconsin with 247Sports’ crystal ball predictions favoring Wisconsin. Colorado made a last-minute run, with new coach Deion Sanders contacting Snowden about a potential visit, but Snowden said Madison was the place for him.

“I previously went to West Virginia, and shoutout to them guys,” Snowden said. “They showed me everything they had that they could bring to the table, but I just think Madison, Wisconsin, was the best fit for me and my family.”

It’s been a whirlwind of a journey for Snowden, who previously committed to the University of Cincinnati on June 12 after Snowden and his family developed a strong relationship with then-head coach Luke Fickell.

After Fickell, who coached Cincinnati from 2017 to 2022, departed for Wisconsin on Nov. 27, Snowden decommitted from Cincinnati Nov. 28, bringing his collegiate future back to the drawing board.

“It was hard because the craziest thing about it was my family was in Jamaica when it all happened,” Snowden said. “I was hurt, and I didn’t know what to do. I thought coach Fickell just left us high and dry. A week came by, and he called me saying he wanted me to be a Badger. I took a couple days to think about that and just to see where everything laid out, and I’m happy I made the right choice.”

Snowden will now join a Mike Tressel defense that utilized cornerbacks Coby Bryant and Sauce Gardner to perfection in the 2021-22 season at Cincinnati. Tressel served on the Michigan State University coaching staff from 2007 to 2020 as a special teams coach, linebackers coach and defensive coordinator before joining Cincinnati, and he now has signed on with Fickell in Wisconsin.

Gardner, who was the fourth overall selection in the 2022 NFL draft by the New York Jets, was a key factor in Snowden’s decision to join Fickell the first time at Cincinnati. With Gardner, who attended Detroit Martin Luther King Jr. High School, being a local and national superstar in the NFL, Snowden said he can take over the role that Gardner dominated in at Cincinnati.

“He (Tressel) compared me to Sauce a lot, Sauce being long and having range and length,” Snowden said. “I can play that boundary corner and will play that boundary corner.”

While the journey to developing his legacy at Wisconsin has now begun, his accomplishments will forever be remembered at not only Roseville High School, but in the Roseville community as well.

Snowden was a Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Dream Team selection after tallying 37 tackles and six interceptions in 2022.

Roseville football head coach Vernard Snowden, who is also Amare’s father, said Snowden’s efforts to not only help bring Roseville its first district championship in school history, but also bring the school to where it is now speaks volumes about the difference he makes.

“His leadership has literally been the reason that our program is at the point it is right now,” Vernard Snowden said. “Right now, we got several kids on the roster who are Division I athletes, and I’d be a fool to say that, without his leadership, we would be in the same spot.”

Snowden and Wisconsin have every intention for him to start their season opener against the University of Buffalo on Sept. 2 in Madison.

As for his local counterparts and the rest of the Big 12, he’s ready.

“Just know that Michigan and Michigan State, I’m coming,” Snowden said. “You’re gonna feel me for the next few years.”