Wisconsin Football: Badgers flip Quan Easterling

Wisconsin Football picked up a commitment from fullback Quan Easterling on Sunday afternoon. What are the Badgers getting in the former Akron commit?

Commitment No. 18 is in for Wisconsin Football as the staff puts the finishing touches on a stellar 2019 recruiting class.

Earlier this afternoon, Evan Flood of Badger247 broke the news that Archbishop Hoban (Akron OH) fullback Quan Easterling had backed off his pledge to his hometown Akron Zips and committed to Wisconsin after visiting Madison over the weekend. The Badgers extended an offer to Easterling about a month ago, and considering the program’s status as one of the few across the country that still utilizes and develops fullbacks, they instantly emerged as a top option.

Though I think Wisconsin would have had a great chance to flip Easterling regardless, it certainly did not hurt the cause when Akron recently fired head coach Terry Bowden.

Easterling, a 3-star prospect per the 247Sports composite, had been committed to Akron since June after picking the Zips over just two other FBS offers from Toledo and Marshall. In addition to Wisconsin, he picked up an offer from UCLA earlier in the fall. Easterling had been scheduled to visit the Bruins next weekend before pledging to the Badgers.

Easterling was born to be a Wisconsin fullback.

He has pretty much every tool that Paul Chryst could want from the position in his offense. He’s incredibly physical when paving holes as a blocker out of the backfield in the running game, routinely crushing defenders into the ground at the high school level. However, Easterling also has some finesse to his game, with relatively soft hands as a receiver out of the backfield and decent speed to complement his physicality as ball carrier.

To me, Easterling looks like a prospect who could potentially have an impact on the field from the outset of his career. He certainly appears ready from a physical standpoint, and with the graduation of Alec Ingold, snaps are going to be there for the taking. His competition for the starting job should amount to Mason Stokke, Coy Wanner, and possibly John Chenal, and none of those guys have had much game experience to this point in their careers.

Easterling is the third player in the class of 2019 that Wisconsin has flipped from a commitment to another program, joining tight end Clay Cundiff (Kansas) and wide receiver Stephan Bracey (Western Michigan). The Badgers could also still be an option for two other committed recruits in linebacker Mohamed Toure (Rutgers) and defensive tackle Deshon Hall (Louisiana Tech).