Wisconsin Football extended an offer to a sleeper linebacker earlier this week. Could a commitment be coming soon?
Wisconsin has been hitting the recruiting trail hard in search of an additional linebacker to join commits Leo Chenal and Spencer Lytle in the Badgers’ 2019 class. After losing out on the Jared Casey sweepstakes to Oregon a few weeks ago, the staff has since extended offers to JD Bertrand (Roswell, GA), who recently backed off his pledge to Georgia and will be visiting Madison this weekend, and Rutgers commit Mohamed Toure (Pleasantville, NJ), who was on campus for Wisconsin’s win over Illinois.
However, another linebacker joined the mix this week, and it is he who could be the most likely of the group to become a Badger.
That player is Adlai Stevenson (Lincolnshire, IL) outside linebacker Maema Njongmeta, who claimed a Wisconsin offer on Tuesday. After the offer was announced, Wisconsin immediately began picking up traction in for the 3-star and is now seen as the favorite to land his services. Indeed, one look at Njongmeta’s Twitter feed will tell you that this offer was big for him.
Njongmeta has already been on campus, as he visited Madison at the beginning of October and took in Wisconsin’s victory over Nebraska.
https://twitter.com/the_maema/status/1049019981223092225
According to the 247Sports composite rankings, the 3-star prospect is the No. 91 outside linebacker and No. 1228 overall player in the 2019 class.
Wisconsin is the second Power 5 offer for Njongmeta after Iowa State. Other schools that have offered include Army, Bowling Green, Navy, Northern Illinois, Toledo, and many of the programs in the Ivy League.
Another exciting offer by Wisconsin here, as Njongmeta looks to be the type of late-bloomer that Paul Chryst and his staff have always excelled at identifying. He had a massive senior season for Stevenson, post a whopping 131 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles.
The video Njongmeta put up on Hudl a few days ago with his senior highlights is very impressive.
The trait that jumps out the most is the speed at which he plays. Njongmeta is a true sideline to sideline linebacker and his closing speed on tackles is incredible. That explosiveness results in some huge hits on the ball carrier. He’s listed as an outside linebacker by the recruiting services, but I think he might be an inside linebacker for Wisconsin with that skill set and his smaller 6’1 frame.
I think there’s a strong chance Njongmeta jumps on this offer and becomes a member of Wisconsin’s class very soon. The Badgers have everything you would think he’s looking for: a strong tradition of linebacker development, an opportunity to play for a Big Ten power close to home, and academics that should be attractive for a recruit that boasts several Ivy League opportunities.