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The Wisconsin Badgers scored a massive commitment on Friday morning, as high three-star defensive tackle Curtis Neal of William Amos Hough High School in North Carolina announced his intention to become a Badger.
Thank you mamma. Now dry your eyes, you made a man of I❤️ pic.twitter.com/vNj7Smipek
— Curtis Neal (@CurtisNeal97) June 25, 2021
The 300-pound lineman recently took an official visit to Wisconsin at the beginning of June and wrapped up an official with Ohio State this past weekend. In the end, the Badgers won out for the talented 2022 prospect out of Cornelius, North Carolina who was additionally offered by Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and USC among others.
Neal is expected to begin his career as a nose tackle in Wisconsin's 3-4 scheme, and he displays a keen ability to be disruptive along the interior of the defense on film using his quickness, low base, and strength. He suffered a knee injury late last season which hampered his recruitment slightly the past few months, but the Badgers never wavered in their desire for the talented prospect. In fact, Wisconsin was one of the first schools to offer Neal a scholarship back in September of 2018.
Impact
Overall, Neal is the seventh commitment in the class of 2022 for the Badgers. The class now ranks No. 44 in the country according to the 247 Sports composite rankings, and is moving up in the B1G.
Assuming he signs with the Badgers, Neal will be the third player from William Amos Hough High School on the roster in 2022, joining defensive lineman Gio Paez and wide receiver Devin Chandler, each of whom played an important part in his recruitment.
With Neal in the fold, the Badgers still have room for two more defensive linemen after only signing Mike Jarvis in 2021. Right now Wisconsin is in good standing with Isaac Hamm (who could project to defensive end or outside linebacker) and recently hosted Felix Hixon two weekends ago. KJ Miles was also on campus this last weekend for official visits as well. If defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej can close on Hamm and one of the other two targets, the Badgers could be primed to put together their best defensive line class in quite some time.
Stay locked in at Bucky’s 5th Quarter as June’s recruiting period is just heating up.