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Wisconsin Football hands out two new offers over the weekend

By Sam Land

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 30: Head coach Paul Chryst of the Wisconsin Badgers cheers during the 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 30: Head coach Paul Chryst of the Wisconsin Badgers cheers during the 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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Wisconsin Football offered two prospects on Saturday, including the brother of one of the Badgers’ 2019 commits.

Wisconsin Football continues to expand its board for the 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes, making a new offer in each class over the weekend.

The first recruit to announce his offer from the Badgers was 2021 offensive tackle Nolan Rucci (Lilitz, PA).

That name should sound familiar to Badger fans: Nolan’s older brother, Hayden, is a tight end committed to Wisconsin in the 2019 class. As you might expect, Hayden showed his little brother some love on Twitter after the offer was announced, teasing the possibility of two Rucci’s suiting up together in the Cardinal and White one day.

247Sports only recently came out with its initial rankings for the 2021 class, but that list only consists of 100 players currently and Rucci is not one of them. However, he is just the fourth known player in 2021 to receive an offer from Wisconsin so far, and it isn’t likely that the Badgers would have offered this early if they weren’t extremely impressed with him as a prospect.

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It’s not difficult to see why. Rucci has the massive frame Wisconsin looks for at 6’7, and his film shows that he moves very well for a kid that size.

Wisconsin is Rucci’s first FBS offer, but that should change sooner rather than later. We will see if the chance to team up with his brother, along with the rich tradition of offensive linemen in Madison, will be enough to earn his pledge.

As mentioned, Rucci is just the fourth player Wisconsin has offered so far in 2020 per 247Sports, joining 5-star offensive tackle Hayden Conner (Katy, TX), 5-star defensive end J.C. Latham (Waukesha, WI) and 4-star outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss (Carrollton, GA).

The Badgers do not yet have a commitment in the 2021 class.

Per Jon McNamara of Rivals, Wisconsin also offered 2020 in-state offensive tackle Ben Barten of Stratford during his visit on Saturday.

According to the industry-generated 247Sports composite rankings, Barten is a 3-star prospect who ranks as the No. 4 player in Wisconsin. He comes in as the No. 52 offensive tackle and No. 528 overall player nationally. Like Rucci, Barten has an excellent frame for a Wisconsin lineman at 6’7 and 250 lbs.

Wisconsin is now the third school on Barten’s offer list, joining Iowa and South Dakota State. The Badgers are usually able to lock down the in-state players they covet, especially linemen, so the smart money is probably on Wisconsin in this recruitment.

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The Badgers currently have two commitments in the class of 2020 in offensive tackles Jack Nelson (Stoughton, WI) and Trey Wedig (Wales, WI), with the latter committing on Saturday.