Wisconsin football recruiting: Nolan Rucci sets decision date

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!

Decision date set

• 2021 5-star OT Nolan Rucci (Lititz, Pa.) out of Warwick High School announced on Twitter that he will be making his college decision on Tuesday evening at 5 p.m. CT, streaming live on CBS Sports HQ. Rucci’s top choices are the Wisconsin Badgers, Penn State, Clemson, Michigan and Notre Dame, however it is widely believed that the Badgers and Nittany Lions are his top-two.

With the announcement coming up there were some shifts in 247 Sports Crystal Balls as Wisconsin insider Evan Flood upped his confidence level on Rucci choosing UW to an 8 and Brian Dohn, one of the national analysts, switched his Crystal Ball from PSU to Wisconsin. The Badgers are now the heavy favorite to land the No. 14 player (No. 5 OT) in the nation.

If you follow recruiting at all you’ve been aware of Rucci for some time, especially since his older brother Hayden is a tight end for the Badgers. Nolan received his first offer from the Badgers years ago and it has been a battle all the way until the end for his commitment. Getting the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania, whose parents both went to PSU, away from the Nittany Lions would be a huge deal for Paul Chryst and the staff.

We will obviously have much more on Rucci’s commitment on Tuesday if he picks the Badgers.