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Recruiting is the lifeblood of any major college athletics team, but following it closely as a fan can sometimes be difficult and can often be time consuming. We’ll try and condense all the recruiting news you can use into this bi-weekly post. It’ll include updates on current commits, including stats from their high school games, as well as news on players the Badgers are still pursuing. Let’s get down to business!
Football visitors for the Iowa game
- 2021 QB Cole Stenstrom (Saint Paul, Minn.) out of Mounds View High School came over for the Wisconsin vs. Iowa game. Stenstrom is a dual-threat QB who doesn’t have any offers, as far as I could tell, but has interest from South Dakota State.
Thank you @CoachBudmayr @CoachKhalif and @CoachGebhardt for the game day visit! Loved the atmosphere and energy that Camp Randall brought. #GoBadgers #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/fG6GC18ejI
— Cole Stenstrom (@ColeStenstrom) November 10, 2019
- 2021 TE Derek McDonald (Atlanta, Ga.) from Marist School made the trip up north for a visit to Madison. McDonald is unrated by both of the recruiting services but has interest from Appalachian State, Georgia, Kentucky, Central Michigan and a couple of Ivy League schools.
Great experience at Wisconsin yesterday. Big thanks to @CoachTurnerUW @CoachKhalif @CoachGebhardt pic.twitter.com/OFowkpih8w
— Derek McDonald (@derekmcd21) November 10, 2019
- 2021 4-star DE TJ Bollers (Tiffin, Iowa) was back in Madison for another visit over the weekend with his parents. The No. 136 player in the country, as rated by Rivals, is not close to making a decision, but everything points to Wisconsin, Nebraska and Iowa being the teams to beat.
We made it! #OnWisconsin ❤ ❤ pic.twitter.com/iLpv0IbGVp
— Jenn Bollers (@bollersmomof4) November 9, 2019
With the Badgers playing a 3-4 defense, Bollers could be a prime candidate to switch to an OLB/EDGE rusher position if he decides to come to Madison.
Madison I'm back #OnWisconsin
— TJ Bollers (@tj35ballin) November 9, 2019
- 2021 RB Alex Current (Muskego) came down to Madison for the Iowa game. He has interest from Michigan State, Northwestern, Iowa, North Dakota State and Western Michigan.
Had a solid game day visit yesterday @BadgerFootball . @JT23 was a beast. Thanks to @CoachKhalif and @CoachGebhardt for the invite. #OnWisconsin #Badgers @McNamaraRivals @CurtHogg @WSSstream @travisWSN pic.twitter.com/Y5R0sj3kH3
— Alex Current (@AlexCurrent2021) November 10, 2019
- 2021 DE Sammy Smith (Madison) from Madison West came across town for the Badgers game. There isn’t a whole lot of other info on Smith out there.
Thanks for inviting me to the game today I really enjoyed it and also had a lot of fun protecting the house with you guys!!!@CoachGebhardt @CoachKhalif @BadgerFootball @CoachGebhardt pic.twitter.com/o9Sg16K36p
— SammySmith (@sammysm76740274) November 10, 2019
- 2021 5-star P Arlind Bengu (Avon, Ohio) of Avon High School was at the game on Saturday. He is rated as the No. 3 punter in the 2021 class by Kohl’s Kicking Camp and the No. 39 kicker.
Had a great unofficial visit at the University of Wisconsin! Thanks for having me @tmehlhaff10 @CoachGebhardt and @BadgerFootball ! Can’t wait to be back! #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/fjIOxjfyoP
— Arlind Bengu (@ArlindBengu) November 10, 2019
- 2021 RB/ATH Caleb Frazer (Appleton) of Kimberly High School came down to Madison for the game. He also has some interest from North Dakota, who he plans to go visit later this year.
Had a great time back in madison, thank you @CoachGebhardt @CoachKhalif @CoachWHerring It was fun to watch the boys take home the W! #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/NjCiZvXClG
— Caleb Frazer (@FrazerCaleb) November 10, 2019
- The big fish on campus over the weekend was 2020 4-star RB Jalen Berger (Ramsey, N.J.) of powerhouse Don Bosco Prep. The Badgers have had excellent luck with New Jersey running backs going back as far as Ron Dayne, and including Corey Clement and current record-breaking RB Jonathan Taylor.
Jersey !!! https://t.co/7vD1xeIZal
— Jalen Berger (@JalenBerger) November 10, 2019
Wisconsin was a bit of a latecomer to the recruitment of Berger, but have quickly shot to the top of his list. Hometown Rutgers, Penn State, the Badgers and LSU appear to be the schools that he is most interested in at the moment. UCLA and Ohio State are probably in the next tier of teams and then basically every school you’ve ever heard of has made an offer to Berger.
I Want to Thank The Entire Wisconsin Football Team For Making My Official Visit Great... pic.twitter.com/n0AFsZfY2Z
— Jalen Berger (@JalenBerger) November 11, 2019
The 4-star talent is playing in multiple high school all-star games and plans on making his college choice, live, during the Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 4th. The Badgers should be right in the thick of things until then.
A top Class of 2020 RB makes a commitment.
— Polynesian Bowl (@polynesiabowl) November 11, 2019
4⭐️JALEN BERGER (@JalenBerger) has been selected as a POLYNESIAN BOWL ALL-STAR! #PolyBowl2K20 @BrandonHuffman @BrianDohn247 @GregBiggins @SWiltfong247 @JJ_Conrad @FootballRecruit pic.twitter.com/PwmS2xcxO7
- 2021 3-star WR Jaylin Noel (Kansas City, Mo.) of Park Hill High School came to visit Madison on Saturday for the Iowa game and then the next day he received an offer from the Badgers.
Great visit in Madison today‼️ Thank you @CoachKhalif and @BadgerFootball Good win Badgers pic.twitter.com/SPogEa6QYG
— Jaylin Noel (@noel_jaylin) November 10, 2019
Noel is a 5-foot-11 and 170 pound wideout who has offers from Minnesota, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State and South Dakota State. Kansas, Louisville and a couple of others are showing interest in Noel as well. According to 247 Sports, no school has separated themselves from the pack in Noel’s recruitment.
After a great talk with @CoachGilmoreUW I am blessed and honored to say I have received an offer from The University of Wisconsin‼️ @BadgerFootball pic.twitter.com/CLtV9DFcsD
— Jaylin Noel (@noel_jaylin) November 11, 2019
- 2021 WR Kameron Lee (Kenosha) of Indian Trail Academy returned to Madison for the second time this season. The 6-foot-2 WR hasn’t been offered by the Badgers yet but if he continues his upward trajectory it could be coming.
I had a great time in Madison yesterday! Special thanks to @Evan_Flood @CoachGebhardt @CoachKhalif for having me out! #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/E1kwda8g9f
— Kameron Lee (@lee_kameron) November 10, 2019
- Top 2022 target, 4-star S Braelon Allen (Fond du Lac), was back in Madison for an unofficial visit. Allen is rated as the No. 76 player in the 2022 class by 247 Sports and currently only holds an offer from Iowa. Notre Dame and Wisconsin are the other two schools that are pursuing Allen heavily so far.
Mad-Town tomorrow ⚪️ @McNamaraRivals @CoachGebhardt @Evan_Flood
— Braelon Allen (@BraelonAllen) November 8, 2019
Basketball visitors for the Iowa game
- 2021 4-star SG Julian Roper (Franklin, Mich.) out of St. Mary’s School came to Madison to catch the basketball game on Friday night and stayed for the football game on Saturday afternoon.
On Wisconsin ???? ‼️#notcommitted pic.twitter.com/JwXhsMf4vr
— Julian Roper (@JuBuckets0) November 10, 2019
By all accounts he had a great time in Madison but, obviously, did not commit over the weekend. There are still two spots open in the 2021 class, although Greg Gard and company may decide to bank one of those for 2022 since they are signing six players in 2020 and wouldn’t want the classes to get too unbalanced.
Top Wisconsin target, 4 ⭐️ Julian Roper (2021) completed his OV to Wisconsin this weekend #NextUp pic.twitter.com/2XlEnzMKEN
— Wisconsin Hoopz (@hoopz_wisconsin) November 10, 2019
Other basketball recruiting news
- 2021 4-star C Jackson Grant (Olympia, Wash.) committed to the wrong UW over the weekend. The Badgers got Grant on campus for an official visit, but they were always behind the Huskies in the pecking order. Grant valued being able to play close to home and Washington is lucky to have him.
So proud to announce my commitment to the University of Washington ‼️ #TougherTogether #PurpleReign☔️ pic.twitter.com/kFUn4OLHSO
— Jackson Grant (@jpgrant12) November 9, 2019
- Those are good stats. Those are two good players.
Awesome matchup between #Badgers commits/@adidasD1MN teammates Steven Crowl and Ben Carlson at @BreakdownUSA Fall League. By my count, Crowl finished with 20 pts and 9 reb. Carlson with 28 pts, 11 reb. Both have tools/talent to be impact guys at Wisconsin.
— Rodger Bohn (@rodgerbohn) November 10, 2019
Football commits highlights
- 2021 3-star QB commit Deacon Hill led his team to their first playoff victory in 30 years. Hill tossed four TDs in the 44-0 rout.
Great win boys!
— Deacon Pe’a Hill (@dhillsb10) November 9, 2019
10/14
210 pass yds
4 pass tds @B5Q @Stumpf_Brian @BrandonHuffman https://t.co/wVXQ7niCYm
Great team win last night 44-0!! First playoff win for the school since 1989 let’s keep moving forward boys✊ ❤️ pic.twitter.com/vk8v1ddD72
— Deacon Pe’a Hill (@dhillsb10) November 9, 2019