The Badgers coaches have been hot on the recruiting trail since the start of the new year. Not only have they been visiting high schools across the country, they’ve been sending out a lot of big time offers. If you want to get some information on the recent 5 star players offered, you can find that here. I want to look at and breakdown some of the names people may not have heard of yet. With two recent Junior days, a lot of potential Badgers have gotten to experience Madison with many leaving very impressed.
Ryan Montgomery- QB Class of 2025
Ryan is a QB out of Ohio and just posted yesterday that he received an offer from Wisconsin. He lists himself as 6’3″ and 210 pounds while 247 has him listed at 6’5″ and 200 pounds. Either way, the kid has size for only being a sophomore. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with his body as he develops. Being able to remain a good size while staying mobile will be important.
He currently isn’t ranked by 247 sports but is ranked as a 4 star by rivals. It looks like rivals hasn’t posted an update on his since November but it’s a good sign he’s be viewed highly by one of the main recruiting sites.
After watching his sophomore season highlights, I can see while the new staff is interested. He moves around a lot but seems to do it more to keep plays alive. He does a good job of always keeping his eyes down the field and using his strong arm once a receiver finds daylight. I wouldn’t call his arm a cannon, but it very well could get there as he gets stronger and matures.
A lot of high school tape for quarterbacks is them doing whatever they want as they hit open receivers. Ryan has some of that, but he has a play around the 1:15 mark that was incredible. He was blitzed immediately up the middle and was forced to throw it deep down the left sideline with a defender in his face. He dropped it in perfectly to his receiver for a touchdown. Those are the kind of throws you want to see from a young QB prospect.
Jerrae Hawkins Jr- WR Class of 2024
Jerrae is an ATH from West Virginia that is currently in Florida playing for IMG Academy. He’s only listed at 5’9″ and 160 pounds but is ranked as a 4 star on both 247 and rivals. Speed is the name of his game as his fasted 40 yard dash is a 4.25 according to his twitter.
He lists himself as an ATH as he plays receiver and corner in high school. My biggest takeaway from his film is he’s always the fasted guy on the field. His route running doesn’t appear to be overly polished, but that’s not uncommon for a player with his speed. His size will likely take his out of the running to be a college DB but that speed would absolutely play in a Phil Longo offense. He’ll have to put on some weight but that shouldn’t hurt his speed and may actually improve his short area quickness.
Damarion Witten- TE Class of 2024
Damarion is a TE out of Cleveland, Ohio. He lists himself at 6’4″, 220 pounds and has a 4 star ranking on 247 and rivals. You don’t have to watch his hudl video long to see what he’s good at. Throw it up, and he’ll go get it. He doesn’t appear to be exception speed but is smooth when out wide and has strong hands. It’s tough to put a ton of stock into catch passes over high school corners, but the potential is obvious. His ability to block and use his size to catch contested balls makes him a big target for Wisconsin.
Amari Jefferson- WR Class of 2024
Amari is a WR out of Tennessee and appears to have the tailormade body to play outside. He stands at 6’2″ and is currently listed at 195 pounds. Both recruiting sites have him listed as a 3 star as well. His tape is impressive as he doesn’t just sprint down the field and use his speed to out run defenders. He does a great job of catching the ball away from his body and is nearly impossible to catch in the open field. He makes a lot of defenders miss and does it from a wide variety of sets. Even though he is on the taller side, he isn’t limited to being an outside receiver. It’s easy to see how he scored 17 touchdowns as a junior.
Caleb Redd- DE Class of 2024
Caleb is an edge rusher out of St. Louis, Missouri. He’s ranked as a 3 star by 247 but appears to have an ideal frame at 6’4″ and 220 pounds. Caleb’s junior season highlights are impressive as he racks up 21 sacks. However, it’s his versatility that I’m drawn to. More often than not he’s lined up on the outside, but also lined up in the middle and appeared to diagnose well while using his speed to blow up plays. He also seems to be disciplined while rushing the passer. He contains the QB in the pocket on a couple of plays instead of rushing too far upfield and opening up an escape route.
James Flanigan- TE Class of 2025
James is yet to receive a ranking, but at 6’6″ and 220 pounds as a sophomore, it’s hard to imagine that’s far away. He wracked up 9 touchdowns this year, but the tape shows a well rounded TE. He uses his size well to block at an extremely high level. He has solid speed as well that should improve as he grows into his length. This seems like an important player to offer early as the Badgers were his first.
Vernell Brown III- ATH Class of 2025
Vernell doesn’t have a ranking on either major site yet, but that may be more due to an injury shortened sophomore season then the tape. Listed at 5’10” and 160, Brown III makes sure he plays big. His big play ability is evident right away as he’s virtually unstoppable in the open field. I always try not to put much stock into receivers winning jump balls over high school corners, but even at 5’10”, Vernell does a great job of bringing in contested catches.
Marquise Lightfoot- Edge Class of 2024
Marquise is a huge target for the Badgers (4 star on both sites), but the fact they got him on campus for junior day was a huge plus. He has an incredibly long offer sheet and at 6’5″ 215 pounds, it’s easy to see why. It’s not hard to imagine him putting on weight and becoming a real force rushing the passer. He doesn’t have the sack numbers you would expect (9), but with 122 tackles, you know he’s impacting the game. His highlights are impressive as you see a dynamic athlete, but it’s the small things he does that stand out to me the most. It’s not often you see highschool edge rushers get their hands up and bat passes into the air. Marquise would be a huge get for the Badgers.
Derek Jensen- OL Class of 2024
Derek was another player that took advantage of junior day and left with an offer. He is listed as a 3 star on 247 and a 4 star on rivals so it’s interesting he just recently received an offer as a home state kid. He lists himself at 6’7″ and 310 on his twitter and it’s easy to picture him in a Badgers uniform. It shouldn’t be shocking that a kid of his size dominated on the line in high school. His tape shows a mauler and finisher which is exactly what you’re supposed to do at that level when you’re bigger and stronger than everyone. The big plus is it looks like he’s comfortable in space and athletic enough to stay on quicker defenders.
Landon Gauthier- LB Class of 2024
Landon is another Wisconsin product that appears to have made an impact during his junior day. At 6’3 220 pounds, he has the size and length to play linebacker at the next level but currently isn’t ranked by 247 or rival. His tape is the kind I love to see from a player that may be under rated on the national stage. He appears to play a swiss army knife role and does it well. He lines up all over the field and has the strength and speed to make an impact in multiple ways. He is just as effective holding up and getting off a block to stop a run for a loss as he is using his speed to fly into the backfield for a sack. Major player to keep an eye on.
Kyan Berry Johnson- WR Class of 2024
Kyan is a 3 star receiver out of Illinois and has the body type that we’ve seen the Badgers focus on a bit more under the new regime at 5’10” 165 pounds. It’s obvious Wisconsin is try to focus on playmaking ability and Kyan has plenty of it. His highlights were a good watch because I see a well rounded player. Yes, he is electric with the ball in his hands in the open field, but he also appears to be an under rated route runner and has great hands. His lateral quickness and ability to always find the best route to open space was also impressive.
The Badgers have thrown out many more offers than this, but I wanted to highlight some of the names for players that have announced offers recently. I’ll be trying to do this weekly so Badger fans can stay up to date on who is getting offers and a brief breakdown on what they have done on the field.
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