2021 ILB Jake Chaney signs with Wisconsin

On a busy day for Wisconsin football, the Badgers picked up a signed letter of intent from inside linebacker Jake Chaney on Wednesday which should help solidify the position for years to come.

Chaney is an inside linebacker from Lehigh Senior High School in Lehigh Acres, Fla. near Fort Myers. He is the son of James Chaney, a former defensive lineman at Florida State, and current coach at Lehigh Senior.

Overall, the best way to describe Chaney is that he seems to welcome contact. In his senior highlights, you’ll often see Chaney flowing to the hole and meeting the opposing ball carrier head-on. When he does so, Chaney usually lays the wood to the back which will be vital at the inside linebacker position.

In addition, Chaney has the athletic ability to do a lot of other things that will be important at Wisconsin. On his tape you see Chaney put his and in the dirt as a down lineman and get out and make tackles in space. Additionally, he lined up at fullback and tailback quite often so pure athleticism should allow him to be whatever the defensive staff want him to be. His pure strength makes him a likely inside backer, but his athleticism allows for flexibility.

Chaney is part of a 2021 class that brings in five linebackers to the group. Currently, Braelon Allen (who may play safety instead but is listed at ILB on 247Sports) and Bryan Sanborn are both listed as inside linebackers to go along with Chaney. There is depth that the staff likes inside on the roster currently, but a lot of it has not been seen on the field yet with Jack Sanborn and Leo Chenal holding down the spots in 2020.

Rankings

247 Composite: 3 stars; grade: .8559; No. 926 player in the nation; No. 42 LB; No. 124 FL

247 Sports: 3 stars; grade: 85; No. 46 LB; No. 134 FL

Rivals: 3 stars; 5.6 rating

ESPN: 3 stars; Grade: 76; No. 448 Regional; No. 152 FL

Verbally committed to Wisconsin on March 15, 2019

Chaney committed to Wisconsin in March after pursuit from a lot of different schools both in and out of the Florida area. Chaney took an unofficial visit to Wisconsin in November and picked up an offer from Wisconsin on Jan. 21, 2020.

His recruitment really started to pick up steam around that time as well as Chaney picked up offers from Pitt, Indiana, Louisville, and Florida Atlantic. In March, Chaney also picked up an offer from Michigan but committed to the Badgers on March 15, 2019.

Video Highlights

Player bio (courtesy of UW Athletic Department)

• Three-star recruit by 247 Sports, ESPN and Rivals
• Recorded 117 tackles, 12.0 TFLs and 5.0 sacks as a senior
• District 7A player of the year as a junior with 100 tackles and 10 TFLs