D.J. Singleton
6’3″, 200 pounds
Safety
St. Peters Prep
Jersey City, NJ

Ratings
Scout — Four Stars, No. 14 Safety in the Nation
Rivals — Three Stars, No. 42 Safety in the Nation, No. 21 New Jersey Recruit
247 Sports — Three Stars
ESPN — Four Stars, No. 18 Safety in the Nation

If there were any Badgers fans who had doubts the Wisconsin staff is putting together a special 2012 recruiting class, the latest commitment —safety D.J. Singleton, of Jersey City, New Jersey — should erase any questions. It’s August and Singleton’s verbal gives the 2012 recruiting class six four-star recruits based on Scout.com’s ratings. When the 2011 recruiting class runs out onto the Camp Randall field for the first time a week from Thursday, there will be just one four-star recruit among them — linebacker Jake Keefer, of Baldwin, Wis.

The early commitment from the high-upside New Jersey athlete was another big boost for what could be the program’s highest rated recruiting class ever, but it came as somewhat of a surprise. A Rivals post from last Sunday said Singleton “isn’t close to making a decision.”

“I’m definitely going to take official visits to Wisconsin and Rutgers. That’s all I know for now,” Singleton said at the time.

So, what changed? Perhaps the defensive back saw the Badgers recruiting class filling up quickly and wanted to make sure he didn’t miss out on his spot.

“I was going to wait until my Grandfather’s birthday to commit which is in October, but that’s a long time from now, so I decided to go ahead and commit to Wisconsin now,” Singleton told Junior Rank after making his commitment. “The coaches were really excited when I committed and they thought I was really the last piece of the puzzle for them, so it was just a great time for everyone involved.

“Coach B is really down to earth and the City of Madison is really beautiful in itself. When I went up there, at first I really didn’t know what to expect to be honest with you. You go into your visit expecting farm land, but the city was just great.”

Singleton also had Big Ten offers from Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Purdue. He was offered by handful of other schools including Georgia Tech, Miami (FL), Tennessee and Rutgers, which was Singleton’s second favorite offer.

The Thomas Hammock recruit is an impressive athlete. At 6’3″ and 200 pounds as a high school senior and with the ability already to bench 275 pounds, he has the size and strength to play linebacker in college, but he also has the skills and speed (4.46 40-yard dash) to play in the secondary, where he’d certainly give some receivers second thoughts before they go up for a pass. Singleton is bigger than most NFL safeties, much less his future college football peers.

“Singleton plays safety with the physicality and toughness of a linebacker,” ESPN says. “With continued physical development, he will likely end up there in college and could get recruited as an OLB. (He) is tall with a long wingspan and body, which has a lot of room to fill out.”

His high school coach, Rich Hansen, agreed.

“Athletically he’s phenomenal,” Hansen told Badger 247. “He has a great work ethic, tremendous motor, and the best part about it is D.J., he’s not even close to the type of football player he’s going to be.

“That’s the exciting part for the school he’s going to. I think he’s going to be a 220-pound safety or outside linebacker, and he can also run the football. He’s an unknown entity in that facet. They’re getting a dynamic, explosive defensive player, and like I said, it’s the tip of the iceberg for him.”

Click HERE for a great package of highlights of D.J. Singleton.

With his recruitment over, Singleton is now hoping to join Badger verbal commits quarterback Bart Houston and offensive lineman Walker Williams in the Semper Fidelis All-American Game this January.

“Playing in that game would be a great honor because it’s sponsored by the Marine Corps and it is going to be the first ever and I believe it will be the best of the bowl games,” Singleton told Junior Rank. “I’m really hoping that they pick me to play in the game so I can go out to Arizona with the caliber of players they have at the camps.”

Ratings
Rivals — N/A
Scout — N/A

While the 2012 University of Wisconsin continues to build on an impressive 2012 recruiting class, the Badgers have landed their first building block for the 2013 class. In a surprisingly early verbal commitment, especially for an out-of-state prospect, Scott Orndoff, a 6’5”, 240-pound tight end from Seton-LaSalle High School in Pittsburgh, told the Badgers yesterday that he will join the university in 2013.

Orndoff, a 16-year-old entering his junior year of high school, attended Wisconsin’s one-day camp in June. He must have had an impressive showing because the tight end left with an early class of 2013 offer.

“According to the source I talked to, he came to camp and tore it up and earned an offer,” BadgerNation.com Publisher Benjamin Worgull wrote.

Apparently Orndoff’s visit impressed him as well. News of his commitment comes just two months later, making Orndoff the first Pennsylvania prospect in the 2013 recruiting class to give a verbal commitment.

“He and his parents went back out to visit a few weeks later (after the June camp), met all the coaches and just kind of fell in love with the place,” Seton-LaSalle Coach Greg Perry told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He told me he was going to commit because he didn’t think he could do much better. It’s a great school, good academics, they’re getting Pittsburgh kids out there. It’s great for him.”

Orndoff will play with two 2012 verbal commits with ties to the Pittsburgh area when he joins the team in 2013 — defensive back Reggie Mitchell and defensive lineman Arthur Goldberg.

At 6’5” and nearly 250 pounds as a 16 year old, Orndoff’s size jumps off the page, but reports are the numbers are legitimate. According to the Post-Gazette, he started high school as a quarterback before a serious growth spurt led to a change of positions. He has also played at wide receiver and will play as a tight end and defensive end this year.

Joshua Funk, of PennLive.com, says another position change could be in Orndoff’s future.

“An individual close to the Seton-LaSalle program told me earlier this summer that the Badgers could convert Orndoff to an offensive tackle when he gets to college,” Funk wrote.

Regardless of what position he lands at as a Badger, it appears Wisconsin has started the 2013 recruiting class with a bang. Orndoff is a massive, athletic prospect that will only continue to grow and develop in his final two years of high school.

Walker Williams
6’7″, 321 pounds
Offensive Tackle
Tacoma Baptist
Tacoma, Washington

Ratings
247 Sports — Three Stars, Not Ranked
Rivals — Three Stars, No. 55 Offensive Tackle, No. 6 Player in Washington
Scout — Three Stars, No. 64 Offensive Tackle
ESPN — Three Stars, No. 106 Offensive Tackle

It’s hard to believe that anyone who is 6’7″ and 321 pounds heading into his senior year of high school could be overlooked, but Walker Williams seemingly flew under the college recruiting radar until this spring. As coaches started to see tape of the small-school Washington player and could confirm that his size was legitimate, the offers started to roll in.

The Badgers were among the first schools to offer, joining a list that now includes Colorado, Oregon State, UCLA, Utah, Washington and Eastern Washington. But it was actually Williams who initiated conversations with Wisconsin coaches, who rarely recruit in the state of Washington. Williams told the Tacoma News Tribune he sent a highlight DVD to the university and that is what peaked interest from UW.

The offensive tackle visited Madison for the spring game this April and again for summer practices earlier this month. Williams, who was also reportedly being recruited heavily by 2012 Wisconsin quarterback commit Bart Houston, decided to end his recruitment after his most recent visit and verbally committed to the Badgers last week.

“Making the call to tell the Wisconsin coaches, it was a feeling of relief,” Williams told the Tacoma News Tribune. “They were really excited.

“I really enjoyed pretty much every aspect of the program, from the coaches to the players to the school. Coaches are down to earth and probably one of my favorite coaching staffs. I do like their style of play. I wish they passed a little bit more, but if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. If you can score 70 points running the ball 90 percent of the time, go do it.”

While Williams has not faced Washington’s top competition while playing for a smaller high school, he does train with some of the most highly regarded athletes in the state. He has joined fellow Washington high school football stars Joshua Garnett (Scout.com’s No. 1 guard prospect in the country) and Zach Banner (a highly touted offensive tackle prospect) at Competitive Edge, a training facility located near Tacoma. Williams, who has a martial arts background and won the state discuss title last year, told Northwest Sports Report the training has made him leaner, stronger, more explosive, and technically more sound.

Williams burst and technique are two areas ESPN scouts think the offensive lineman could improve on.

“Williams has the upper body playing strength to dominate defenders once he gets his hands on them. His explosion and ability to come off the ball low and hard will need to improve,” the site says. “(He) has the size with enough athleticism for the offensive tackle position at the major level of competition.”

ESPN’s Greg Biggins adds that “depending on how his body and feet continue to develop,” Williams could shift from tackle to guard at the college level.

But Dirk Knudsen, of Northwest Prep Report, wouldn’t bet against Williams succeeding at whatever he puts his mind to.

“Where else is a school going to find a kid with this frame and work ethic and incredible grades to boot? ” wrote Knudsen.

On Jan. 3, 2012, Williams will take those attributes onto the field at the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl in Phoenix. He was invited to the all-star game along with Houston and Diamond. Could the duo of Wisconsin commits help pull in another top recruit for Wisconsin in Diamond? Don’t be surprised if you hear Houston and Williams at least make their best pitches to the four-star Chicago offensive tackle over the next few months.