“When he started for us as a sophomore, I knew he was going to be a really good player,” said Bishop Dwenger offensive line coach Jason Fabini, who played 11 years in the NFL. “You could just tell.

“He moves well. He’s fast. He’s fluid. Even for a sophomore — sometimes those kids are still growing into their bodies and are maybe a little uncoordinated or they’re in-between, but we never really saw that from Joe.”

Tippmann wasn’t convinced quite as quickly as Fabini.

The summer before his junior year, Tippmann attended his first recruiting camp at UW. He said he tested “substantially higher” than others at his position. He could sense coaches looking at him more closely, and many approached him to compliment his performance. At the end of the day, they asked him to return for a visit.

“As soon as I got there, I could tell that they were interested in me,” Tippmann said. “That’s pretty much when I realized, ‘Woah, maybe I have a chance at this.’”

UW offered Tippmann during a visit in November of that year and he committed five weeks later.