After the Wisconsin Badgers were able to land the commitment of wide receiver Aron Cruickshank late last month, conventional wisdom held that the wide receiver position was locked in for the class of 2018. While the future position of three-star Avon, Ind., wide receiver Isaac Guerendo might not be at his high school position, getting his public commitment this week means UW is getting some spectacular athleticism.
Guerendo’s Hudl profile shows that his reported sub-4.4 speed at the Notre Dame camp definitely translates. He gets up to top speed quickly, and if you notice on the tape, there were a lot of teams that gave him a remarkable amount of cushion when he was running routes. If the safety was late—or worse, the cornerback was beaten—Guernedo had an opportunity to put a lot of yardage or six points on his opponent.
While there were no defensive plays on his tape, there is reason to believe that with Jim Leonhard teaching technique and the traits before us, Guerendo can be somebody. For one, he’s definitely not just a straight-line speedster. He can make a tackler miss with the ball in his hands, and he can make a cut from a point and not lose much of that delightful speed. Sure, they’re not all of the tools one might need at the position, but a fast, agile 6’1 guy is definitely a great starting point if defense is in Guerendo’s future.
Again, if you recall when Cruickshank announced his commitment, the expectation was that the Badgers were done at wide receiver. But if there’s someone with an uncoachable trait—and Guerendo has that in spades—that you believe helps the team get better for the future? If there’s an extra space available, it’s always a good evaluation even if the prospect was only offered by Army, Air Force, Ball State, and Eastern Michigan.
In the grand scheme for the Badgers, with Bryson Williams announcing his commitment Wednesday and Guerendo and Travian Blaylock committing Thursday, they could very well be done position-wise for 2018. Marquis Williams could be a take, but until we get word about the fall roster, the Badgers are probably able to focus on 2019 for a while.