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Wisconsin football recruiting: Badgers recruits shine in Semper Fi All-American Bowl practices

Three Badgers commits are turning heads in California.

By Jake Kocorowski
Student Sports

In midst of all the college football bowl season, high school all-star bowl season has started.

Three Wisconsin Badgers verbal commits will participate in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., on Sunday (8 p.m. CT, FS1). Fort Lauderdale, Fla., linebacker Dallas Jeanty will play on the East team, while Carmel, Ind. outside linebacker Noah Burks and Kansas City, Mo. (Rockhurst) athlete A.J. Taylor will suit up for the West squad.

The recruits haven't just participated but made some noise during the four days of practice that have been noted by the various recruiting services.

Noah Burks

The composite three-star linebacker, rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports,has been consistently getting positive comments by all three recruiting services.

247Sports reported Burks standing out in the first, second and third day of practices. Alex Gleitman praised Burks after day one:

"Burks is just a straight up football player in every sense of the word. He's your typical Midwest kid who works his tail off on every play, is smart, and is just always around the football. He should fit in very well at Wisconsin."

According to Rivals.com's Blair Angulo, the 6'3, 225-pound Burks was one of the prep standouts with a "stock up" rating from his Friday stock report:

Performance: The buzz on the sideline was that there might not be a player on the team that lives or breathes football more than Burks. That sentiment was definitely validated by how motivated the Wisconsin commit looked to win every matchup (sic). He had a few standout plays where he chased down ball carriers on the flat and he also had an interception early in one-on-one drills, adjusting to an underthrown ball and beating a receiver for possession.

Scout.com's Brian Dohn watched the linebackers on Friday, and liked what he saw from the future Badgers standout.

Dallas Jeanty

247Sports' Kipp Adams ranked Jeanty as the "Alpha Dog" for the East practices on the first day of practice.

While there was an adjustment period for most of the participants, the 6-foot, 220-pound linebacker picked up on everything quickly. Jeanty, a Wisconsin commitment, showed great instincts and displayed a natural feel for the game. Jeanty was plugged right into the 4-3 scheme being installed and was calling the plays for the defense an hour later, making sure everyone was lined up correctly.

Jeanty does not have prototypical size for the position, but he makes up for it with quick feet and violent hands, aggressively flying to the football. The Badgers appear to have a South Florida steal in Jeanty.

Jeanty apparently had an "active" day as well on Friday per Adams, causing the coaches to tell him to "ease up."

The three-star recruit is impressing, per BadgerNation.com. Check out the interview from Scout.com's Gabe Brooks.

A.J. Taylor

The composite four-star commit may have made the most waves out of the three future Badgers this week.

Scout.com ranked Taylor as a top performer at running back from the first day and second day of practice, and also one of the top five offensive players on the West team during the week heading into Sunday's game. From Greg Biggins on Taylor's week that was:

Greg Biggins says: "Wisconsin commit A.J. Taylor was the best running back, by far. He's actually going to play receiver in college, but he ran the ball. He's got a great frame, a great burst, really quick. He makes people miss, he has top-end speed. He was the total package. I liked him a lot."

247Sports' Gleitman reported the Missouri native was the best offensive player on the first day of practice.

"The Wisconsin pledge says he will play wide receiver at the next level, but he was the most impressive player for the West on offense at running back. He showed great vision and shiftiness in the backfield, as well as a second gear once he hit the next level. If I were the Badgers, I'd take another look at where they want Taylor to play when he arrives in Madison"

He also ranked the 5'11, 190-pound Taylor as one of the "Next Five" top players on offense from Friday's practice.

Check out Taylor's interview with Scout.com from Friday.

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