Wisconsin football recruiting: 2021 commits staying strong

When the B1G, and then the Pac-12, announced that they were going to be cancelling fall sports earlier this week everyone went through a whole host of emotions. Once the dust settled a little some fans immediately turned their attention to recruiting and whether or not conferences that still planned on playing (SEC, ACC, Big 12) would try and “poach” some of the verbal commitments in Wisconsin’s 2021 class.

We know that players who commit to Wisconsin very rarely decide to decommit and flip to other schools (unless there’s a coaching change) as opposed to, say, I don’t know...Minnesota. But in These Uncertain Times, we wanted to check in with the class of 2021 and see where their heads were at and if any schools from the Big 12, ACC or SEC has come calling this week.

B5Q reached out to seven 2021 prospects and as of 3:00 p.m. CT on Friday, three have responded to this question: “With the B1G cancelling their football season this year, have you heard from any schools in the ACC/SEC/Big 12 that are trying to flip you? We were just wondering because some Ohio State recruits mentioned that it was happening to them.”

Here’s what they had to say:

• Ricardo Hallman, 3-star CB, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.: “Nah, no sir, I haven’t really. I kinda cut off my communication with other schools because I’m locked in on my decision. #onwisconsin !!”
• Bryan Sanborn, 3-star ILB, Lake Zurich, Ill.: “I haven’t heard from any other schools and even if they did I’m still 100 percent sold on Wisconsin.”
• Riley Mahlman, 4-star OT, Lakeville, Minn.: “Not really. I’ve never really been in any major talks with schools out of the Midwest.”

Sanborn, the brother of Wisconsin Badgers ILB Jack Sanborn, would probably be pretty tough to flip and his answer confirms that. Mahlman has been committed to the Badgers for a while and Wisconsin’s legacy of dominant offensive linemen probably has him solidly to UW. Hallman, however, lives in the heart of ACC/SEC territory so it’s really nice to hear him say that he is rock solid with Wisconsin.

If any other players respond to us, we’ll update this post.

UPDATE, Sunday, August 16th, 7:37 a.m.:

• Mike Jarvis, 3-star DL, Medford, N.J.: “No I told everyone I’m not changing up on Wisconsin.”