Analyzing the impact of Wisconsin’s weekend commitments

After the Rutgers weekend, the Wisconsin Badgers find themselves pretty much set at a position where they have found great success in unexpected places throughout the decade.

With the commitments of Lincolnshire, Ill. (Adlai Stevenson) and Blue Springs, Mo. (South) three-star prospects Maema Njongmeta and Skyler Meyers, the Badgers found two prospects that, while they currently are under the radar, do have that tasty upside that might turn into something fun when the decade calendar turns to the ‘20s.

Spoiler alert: both commits already gained a star from the time they committed to the time I write this.

If you’re looking at a prospect from a city with a small population, you want a prospect that dominates. And while there are plenty of cities, towns, villages, as well as unincorporated locales larger than Lincolnshire, Njongmeta has that dominance. I mean, the stat sheet ended up with 23 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and two forced fumbles with 131 tackles.

The Hudl profile shows someone who can fly to the ball, but the thing that interests me more is that he can pick through the trash and make the play through the inside gaps. For a prospect that’s listed at 6’1, you’re looking at someone whose non-special teams playing time is going to have to be on the inside. Knowing he has traits to play inside, barring the usual caveats, you’re going to see the lazy college football analyst make a comparison to T.J. Edwards if he gets to that upside.

As for Meyers, you get a prospect who can go from 0 to 60 in, and I’m saying this with absolutely no hyperbole, one-tenth of a second. Okay, that was a lie, but the Hudl profile shows a player who attacks the play with abandon and has strong acceleration and agility to go after the ball carrier. The redshirt year will probably be necessary for Meyers, as he is listed at 215 pounds and needs to add some polish in regards to getting away from blockers. With that said, the motor is already there and this is a skill set the Badgers have always had success tapping into.

What does this mean for the rest of the class of 2019 at linebacker? You can safely assume that recent official visitor Mohamed Toure is set to remain at Rutgers barring another suitor. With that said, there’s a reason that the Badgers are recruiting Leo Chenal as an athlete. A four-star prospect like J.D. Bertrand out of Roswell, Ga., is the sort of “save a spot” prospect that most teams keep room for. It’s a hotly contested battle where he can easily go to Florida or Notre Dame, but if he decides that Wisconsin is the place for him, assume the Badgers absolutely have room.

Weekend visitors

Bertrand, Meyers, and Njongmeta all visited Wisconsin this weekend (the first two on official visits).

With that, here are a few more visitors from this past weekend:

2019 commits Julius Davis and Spencer Lytle

We noted last week that the two would be there. When speaking with 247Sports’s Evan Flood, Njongmeta noted he met the two in person.

2020 four-star commit Jack Nelson

Matt Fleming

2019 RB Tate Kopulos

Both Rivals and 247Sports have the Waukesha, Wis. (Memorial) product unrated at the moment, though Rivals reports an offer from Villanova.

2020 TE Trevor Borland

The son of Buffalo defensive coordinator/former Wisconsin Badger Brian Borland and brother of current Ohio State linebacker Tuf, Trevor took in Camp Randall on Saturday.

Matt Fleming

2020 WR Chimere Dike

Dike is an in-state product from Waukesha, Wis. (North) who visited a couple of weeks ago for the Illinois game. According to WisSports.net, he caught 79 passes for 1,091 yards and 12 touchdowns in nine games this season.

2021 basketball recruits Jadin Johnson and Chase Courbat

It was not just a weekend for football recruits, folks.

2021 recruits David Joplin, Hayden Nelson and Anthony Whitlow

All hail from emerging powerhouse Brookfield Central in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Jolplin is listed as a wide receiver/tight end, Nelson as a defensive end, and Whitlow as a defensive tackle/tackle.

Matt Fleming