Wisconsin Football adds talented specialist to 2019 class

Wisconsin Football picked up its latest commitment in the class of 2019 last weekend

Wisconsin Football has picked up its 14th commitment in its 2019 recruiting class, securing a verbal pledge from in-state kicker/punter Blake Wilcox out of Kettle Moraine High School, who sent out a tweet announcing his decision on Sunday.

Wilcox will begin his Wisconsin career as a walk-on but told Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he will likely be on scholarship by 2020. Hogg notes that he will start out as both a kicker and punter once he enters the program next year.

There could be an opportunity for Wilcox to get on the field early. The Badgers will lose senior kicker Rafael Gaglianone after this season, and though current redshirt freshman Collin Larsh looks to be the early favorite to take over his placekicking duties in 2019, with Wilcox’s talent it wouldn’t be surprising to see a competition there. In addition, kickoff specialist Zach Hintze and punter Anthony Lotti will both be seniors next season, setting the stage for Wilcox to contribute in one of those roles in his second year with the program.

Wilcox is about as talented a specialist recruit as you will find across the country.

According to Kohl’s Kicking Camps, he ranks as the No. 5 kicker and No. 3 punter in the nation. Wilcox was also selected to play in this year’s Under Armour All-American Game, one of the two most prominent high school all-star games in the nation, along with the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

He is an especially promising prospect due to how much he can still grow as a player. Hogg notes in his article on the commitment that up until last year, Wilcox had never played football before. Wilcox was one of the top soccer players in the state at Kettle Moraine before making the switch to football as a junior, and he was an honorable mention all-state selection as a kicker at the end of his first season playing the game.

Wilcox becomes the fourth in-state recruit in Wisconsin’s 2019 class, joining linebacker Leo Chenal (Grantsburg), defensive lineman Keeanu Benton (Janesville) and running back Julius Davis (Menomonee Falls).