Starting a new insider feature here that we plan to run every Monday, or late Sunday evening.
Commitment coming?
June was a huge recruiting month for the Wisconsin coaching staff, which landed eight of the Badgers’ 14 current commitments. July figures to be much more quiet, literally –- there’s a “dead period” until July 12 followed by a “quiet period” until July 31 –- but there could be a few more pledges before the start of fall camp.
We’re told there’s a very strong chance three-star defensive back Patrick Johnson adds his name to the list when he visits at the end of the month. So much so, one source indicated his future pledge has already been provided to the staff.
Should Wisconsin land Johnson, it would be a major get for first-year defensive backs coach Daronte Jones. Johnson, a Maryland native, currently has offers from Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia and West Virginia, among others. It’s not known at this time whether Johnson projects at safety or corner, but he’s been assured of a spot in the defensive backfield.
Johnson’s potential commitment could also help the Badgers with his teammate, four-star OLB/DE Cameron Brown. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound prospect has UW in his current top 10 along with Arizona State, Duke, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, USC and Virginia Tech.
Jeanty working on his visit
Middle linebacker commit Dallas Jeanty still plans to visit later this month with receiver target Demari Simpkins and Florida commit Aaron Robinson. As we’ve mentioned in the past, Robinson is the Badgers’ top cornerback target in the 2016 class.
Jeanty’s visit, however, is not set in the stone. The three-star prospect is still trying to put together the necessary funds in order to visit unofficially. He’s the only commit in Wisconsin’s class who has yet to make it to campus.
Staying in Florida, three-star senior K.J. Sails is going to Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa July 14 through July 16.
Also, South Florida commit Armunz Mathews wants to visit Wisconsin officially for the Iowa game this fall, but that date also happens to be his parents’ anniversary. The Badgers are still big players in his recruitment.
Not so fast
The number of commitments in June, according to sources, could have reached double-digits had the Badgers accepted commitments from three other prospects.
We’re told Pittsburgh linebacker Tymar Sutton wanted to commit soon after his unofficial visit, but his spot was occupied by Jeanty. The same for Josh Funk, who attempted to reach the staff hours after returning home from Stanford’s camp. Finally, cornerback Ian Peterson made calls to the staff for two days in hopes of committing but never got through. The Texas standout eventually pledged to Kansas.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how the staff moves forward with three-star linebacker Tavante Beckett, who recently came out with a top two of Wisconsin and Virginia Tech. A source close to the situation has indicated Beckett would like to commit to UW during a visit and has UW out in front over Tech.
We’re told Funk is still in contact with defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, who plans to update the two-star prospect at the end of the month about his status. Funk camped at Wisconsin in June and worked primarily at middle linebacker.
Update on van Vliet
With Bo Ryan stepping down after one more season at Wisconsin, Andy van Vliet’s status is once again a message board topic.
van Vliet told staff member Zack Miller that he is still fully committed to being a Badger despite Ryan’s announcement. van Vliet has expressed great enthusiasm about joining the Wisconsin basketball program, and with a great deal of question marks at the forward position next season for the Badgers, it’s hard to see why not.
Having said all of this, the 6-foot-10, 190-pound power forward is not yet listed on UW’s official roster along with the other four signees in the 2015 class, but van Vliet is expected to join the team in August.
Miller received this message from van Vliet last week:
“I had to do a test (required for international students) two weeks ago. Because of that I wasn’t applied to the school yet. A week ago I received the news that I scored high enough on the test and now school is waiting to receive the results.”
So according to van Vliet, he has tested well enough to be admitted to the university, the only thing standing in his way is the time it takes for the test scores to be sent to the admissions office and processed. He fully expects there to be no speed bumps along the way and has messaged Miller saying, “there’s no problems.”
van Vliet is currently playing for the Belgium U20 national team. In three games with the U20 team, van Vliet has averaged 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 19.2 minutes of playing time. The European Championship begins this coming week, but regardless of when the Belgium U20 national team finishes, van Vliet tells BadgerBlitz.com that he is eying a mid-to-late August arrival in Madison.
Watts update
Wisconsin fans were alarmed when Craig Watts visited Colorado after his pledge to UW. According to the four-star safety’s father, Craig plans to take all prepaid trips this summer. His recruitment, however, figures to be interesting this fall.
Note: Please keep all insider information from this report inside the Badgers’ Den
Commitment coming?
June was a huge recruiting month for the Wisconsin coaching staff, which landed eight of the Badgers’ 14 current commitments. July figures to be much more quiet, literally –- there’s a “dead period” until July 12 followed by a “quiet period” until July 31 –- but there could be a few more pledges before the start of fall camp.
We’re told there’s a very strong chance three-star defensive back Patrick Johnson adds his name to the list when he visits at the end of the month. So much so, one source indicated his future pledge has already been provided to the staff.
Should Wisconsin land Johnson, it would be a major get for first-year defensive backs coach Daronte Jones. Johnson, a Maryland native, currently has offers from Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia and West Virginia, among others. It’s not known at this time whether Johnson projects at safety or corner, but he’s been assured of a spot in the defensive backfield.
Johnson’s potential commitment could also help the Badgers with his teammate, four-star OLB/DE Cameron Brown. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound prospect has UW in his current top 10 along with Arizona State, Duke, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh, USC and Virginia Tech.
Jeanty working on his visit
Middle linebacker commit Dallas Jeanty still plans to visit later this month with receiver target Demari Simpkins and Florida commit Aaron Robinson. As we’ve mentioned in the past, Robinson is the Badgers’ top cornerback target in the 2016 class.
Jeanty’s visit, however, is not set in the stone. The three-star prospect is still trying to put together the necessary funds in order to visit unofficially. He’s the only commit in Wisconsin’s class who has yet to make it to campus.
Staying in Florida, three-star senior K.J. Sails is going to Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa July 14 through July 16.
Also, South Florida commit Armunz Mathews wants to visit Wisconsin officially for the Iowa game this fall, but that date also happens to be his parents’ anniversary. The Badgers are still big players in his recruitment.
Not so fast
The number of commitments in June, according to sources, could have reached double-digits had the Badgers accepted commitments from three other prospects.
We’re told Pittsburgh linebacker Tymar Sutton wanted to commit soon after his unofficial visit, but his spot was occupied by Jeanty. The same for Josh Funk, who attempted to reach the staff hours after returning home from Stanford’s camp. Finally, cornerback Ian Peterson made calls to the staff for two days in hopes of committing but never got through. The Texas standout eventually pledged to Kansas.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how the staff moves forward with three-star linebacker Tavante Beckett, who recently came out with a top two of Wisconsin and Virginia Tech. A source close to the situation has indicated Beckett would like to commit to UW during a visit and has UW out in front over Tech.
We’re told Funk is still in contact with defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, who plans to update the two-star prospect at the end of the month about his status. Funk camped at Wisconsin in June and worked primarily at middle linebacker.
Update on van Vliet
With Bo Ryan stepping down after one more season at Wisconsin, Andy van Vliet’s status is once again a message board topic.
van Vliet told staff member Zack Miller that he is still fully committed to being a Badger despite Ryan’s announcement. van Vliet has expressed great enthusiasm about joining the Wisconsin basketball program, and with a great deal of question marks at the forward position next season for the Badgers, it’s hard to see why not.
Having said all of this, the 6-foot-10, 190-pound power forward is not yet listed on UW’s official roster along with the other four signees in the 2015 class, but van Vliet is expected to join the team in August.
Miller received this message from van Vliet last week:
“I had to do a test (required for international students) two weeks ago. Because of that I wasn’t applied to the school yet. A week ago I received the news that I scored high enough on the test and now school is waiting to receive the results.”
So according to van Vliet, he has tested well enough to be admitted to the university, the only thing standing in his way is the time it takes for the test scores to be sent to the admissions office and processed. He fully expects there to be no speed bumps along the way and has messaged Miller saying, “there’s no problems.”
van Vliet is currently playing for the Belgium U20 national team. In three games with the U20 team, van Vliet has averaged 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 19.2 minutes of playing time. The European Championship begins this coming week, but regardless of when the Belgium U20 national team finishes, van Vliet tells BadgerBlitz.com that he is eying a mid-to-late August arrival in Madison.
Watts update
Wisconsin fans were alarmed when Craig Watts visited Colorado after his pledge to UW. According to the four-star safety’s father, Craig plans to take all prepaid trips this summer. His recruitment, however, figures to be interesting this fall.
Note: Please keep all insider information from this report inside the Badgers’ Den
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