Wisconsin football recruiting: UW offers 2022 defensive back

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 (or more often since we are in Uncertain Times and there aren’t actual sports going on) 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!

On Friday, 2022 3-star CB Avery Powell (Jersey City, N.J.) picked up an offer from Wisconsin and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, per his Twitter account. He also holds offers from Arkansas, Boston College, Maryland, Kansas, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and West Virginia among many others.

Powell, out of New Jersey powerhouse St. Peter’s Prep, saw his recruiting take off after a stellar sophomore campaign, which was capped off by him sealing a state title for the Marauders by running back a blocked field goal for a touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the game.

That blocked field goal wasn’t the first time Powell, who stands at 5-foot-11 and weighs 170 pounds, has shown a knack for coming up big when it matters most. Earlier in the year he clinched a key regular season win for St. Peter’s by intercepting a pass on rival, fellow state power, Don Bosco Prep’s final drive. The sophomore has shown a great eye for the game, jumping routes and anticipating runs around the edge to great effect throughout his second year. He’s also proven to be an asset on special teams, using his speed as a gunner as well as a punt returner.

Despite his impressive highlight reel, one would imagine the best is still yet to come for the lockdown New Jersey native, who will get further reps this season with a revamped Marauder defense that also features 2022 4-star Wisconsin recruit K.J. Miles.

247Sports Composite ranking currently rates Powell as the sixth best prospect among all New Jersey sophomores and the No. 30 CB in the nation. The Badgers will look to pair the corner with 2021 DE Mike Jarvis as another defensive name in the Garden State pipeline that has also given the team a quartet of star running backs- Ron Dayne, Anthony Davis, Corey Clement, and Jonathan Taylor- and most recently the state’s top rushing recruit, 2020 commit Jalen Berger.

(Editor’s note: J.J. is a graduate of St. Peter’s Prep and was excited to write up a player from his alma mater.)