Wisconsin football recruiting: CB Alexander Smith commits to Badgers

Apparently, the good news just keeps rolling for Wisconsin Badgers recruiting.

Culver City, Calif. defensive back Alexander Smith committed to Wisconsin late Tuesday evening. He announced his decision via Twitter.

Smith is currently rated a three-star cornerback by Scout and two-star recruit by 247Sports composite. According to Rivals, Smith has received offers from the Air Force, Army, Navy, Boston College and Idaho, among others.

Where Smith will play at the next level will be intriguing, as Scout lists him as a cornerback, 247Sports as a safety, and Rivals as an athlete. Both BadgerNation.com’s Ben Worgull and BadgerBlitz.com’s Jon McNamara, however, report the California product as a cornerback.

Smith’s Hudl film is impressive, and the first thing that pops up is his work on special teams as a returner—with speed and quickness to elude defenders down the field. He routinely showed he can make opposing players miss while accelerating downfield.

According to MaxPreps, Smith returned 13 kickoffs for an astounding 516 yards—that’s nearly 40 yards per return, with three for touchdowns. BadgerNation’s article late Tuesday also reported he took two punt returns for scores.

On defense, Smith appears to be a more-than-willing tackler, with that speed allowing him to close quickly on the ball carrier no matter whether in the backfield or running downfield. It also appears he can get physical with wide receivers against the run and pass.

Smith is the thirteenth recruit who has verbally committed to Wisconsin for the class of 2018—the third public pledge in the past four days.

Gibraltar, Mich. (Oscar A. Carlson) tight end Jaylan Franklin and Austin, Tex. (Westlake) tailback Nakia Watson both publicly committed on Monday and Saturday, respectively (note: Watson actually did so on Friday). He is the first cornerback for UW in this recruiting cycle.