2022 4-star safety Braelon Allen commits to the Badgers

Boom.

While most of the summer fireworks on the recruiting trail for the Wisconsin Badgers have been due to the strong 2021 group that the staff is assembling, the 2022 class just got off to a huge start.

In-state four-star safety Braelon Allen out of Fond Du Lac decided to shut his recruitment down early and announced his choice via Twitter to become a Badger.

A 6-foot-2, 215 pound highly sought after prospect, Allen chose the Badgers over his recently announced top-6 of Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Notre Dame. He held an additional scholarship offer from Iowa, while Florida State and Ohio State had yet to offer.

Allen originally set an early commitment date of January 20th, but after attending the Army All-American Game as an underclassmen, he backed away from that decision date.

Growing up in the state, Allen noted in an interview Bucky’s 5th Podcast that he had a great relationship with Chris Haering and Jim Leonhard, whose message to the four-star athlete was that they want to win a national championship.

In looking ahead at the future of the safety position, Wisconsin appears to be in good hands. Allen and great friend Hunter Wohler — a fellow in-state four-star from the 2021 class — appear have the makings of a dynamic duo in the backend of the defense.

In watching his sophomore highlights, his physicality immediately jumps out. A quick closing and hard hitting defender, Allen also ran for over 600 yards and six touchdowns as a running back.

With his current size and frame, Allen appears likely to be a fit at either safety or linebacker depending on how he grows. Allen told B5Q that his greatest strength could be his versatility, which makes sense given his rare combination of size and athleticism to play multiple positions.

Ultimately the draw to play close to home and for a winning program won out for Allen, and he could start a ripple effect in the 2022 class given the high number of highly touted in-state players already with Wisconsin offers in hand. Allen has a close relationship with the other six in-state prospects in his grade with Badger offers, and noted that they have a group chat already.

While nothing appears immediately iminent in regards to early decisions by the rest of the group — Carson Hinzman, Joe Brunner, Jerry Cross, Billy Schrauth, and Isaac Hamm — the new Badger commit will undoubtedly be in their ear to join the fold as well, in hopes of building one of the best recruiting classes in UW history.

Only time will tell if that comes into fruition, but regardless Wisconsin has a good start to the 2022 class with one of their top of the board defenders committed.