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STRENGTHS
The coaching philosophy with
Blake Fletcher is pretty simple. He’s the best athlete on the roster, and likely the best player on the field each Friday. How can the staff - or his dad, Racine Horlick head coach
Brian Fletcher - position Fletcher to make the most impact on both sides of the ball? That’s been the case over the last four seasons as a four-year varsity starter.
At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, Fletcher plays both linebacker and quarterback in the Rebels’ run-heavy attack. He’s lining up under center because he’s the best athlete, but the two-star senior is explosive as a runner - two rushing scores during Horlick’s 29-14 win over Kenosha Tremper on Friday evening. He also made a handful of completions - 9 of 14 for 100 yards - against the Trojans.
On the defensive side of the ball, Fletcher played primarily in the middle of the field from his linebacker position. Similar to how he’s used on offense, Fletcher is positioned to make as many plays as possible, both in defending the run and pass. With Tremper having some success through the air in the first half, there were a few snaps where Fletcher played what I would describe as a rover position - deeper than linebacker but also just in front of where a safety is lined up.
In normal base packages, he’s highly effective against the run and can go sideline to sideline in pursuit of the football. But Fletcher can also hold his own in pass coverage - he would have had a pick on Friday had his younger brother,
Carson Fletcher, not stepped in front of a pass a half-second sooner.
Because of what he's tasked to do at the second and third level, Fletcher isn’t asked to blitz all that much - at least that was the case on Friday night. With his combination of strength, burst and length, I’d be curious what type of production Fletcher could have if he was allowed to just get in the backfield on every snap. You’d see some big-time sack numbers and opposing offenses having to keep a running back in for protection.
Overall, I came away impressed with Fletcher, who committed to the Air Force this summer. Legit size, powerful at the point attack, long arms and above average ability to flip his hips and burst in the opposite direction. The week prior against Lake Geneva Badger, Fletcher racked up an eye-popping 22 tackles. He didn’t have that same production against Tremper, but there’s a lot to like here.
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AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
Not a ton to write about in this category. I thought Fletcher over-pursued a few times, but he largely diagnoses well and keeps things in front of him. Pad-level is also something that will need some tweaks at the next level, but when Fletcher makes contact, the ball carrier and sometimes the entire pile is moving in the other direction. He’ll be able to run and defend against bigger tight ends in coverage, but Fletcher could struggle with running backs in the flats in college. That’s a question some Power 5 schools probably had during their evaluation.
OUTLOOK/RECRUITMENT
Fletcher is a kid I was told to keep an eye on since his freshman season. That year, he started at both quarterback and linebacker. The following season, Fletcher was the first sophomore selected as the All-Racine County Player of the Year. He got off to a fast start last fall before breaking his left fibula in Week 3 against Oak Creek and missed the rest of the year. Had he played the entire year, I think Fletcher would have racked up Power 5 offers.
Fletcher is currently committed to Air Force but took in Wisconsin’s season opener against Illinois State. The Badgers don’t have a huge need at inside linebacker in this cycle, but he’s a kid I would make an effort to add in this cycle. UW isn’t getting him with a preferred walk-on offer, but I think Fletcher would flip quickly if a full schoarship were extended.
In-state kid who is No. 1 in his class academically with the ability to play either linebacker spot or even H-back at the next level. Considering Wisconsin still has room in this cycle, an offer, in my opinion, makes a lot of sense here. If your mantra is tough, smart, dependable, Fletcher checks all those boxes. We’ll see how things play out this fall.
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WISCONSIN COMPARISON ON THE CURRENT ROSTER
When I first got in contact with Fletcher this summer to discuss Wisconsin’s recent interest, I assumed the coaching staff liked him at outside linebacker. That’s not the case, even though his body type would reflect the ability to play on the edge.
Overall, Fletcher reminds me a lot of
C.J. Goetz in high school because of his length and size. Like Goetz during his time at Catholic Memorial, Fletcher is just at a different level physically in comparison to the players he’s going up against. If we’re looking strictly at inside backers, though,
Tate Grass or
Jake Ratzlaff are decent comps. Both are taller and a little longer in comparison to other players at the position on the current roster.
Let me know what you think.
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