Wisconsin Football: Badgers hosting top prospects on June 4th
The Wisconsin football program will kick off the end of the dead period with a huge weekend in Madison. Right now, they will have nine big prospects on campus for their official visit on June 4th.
The current dead period has been in effect for over a year, meaning NCAA teams couldn’t officially host prospects for visits. Those prospects could voluntarily visit schools, but couldn’t take ‘official’ visits. It has been a big issue with recruiting because recruits couldn’t take true visits to colleges.
Last year, they had to take virtual visits, which doesn’t help a team like Wisconsin as much because prospects couldn’t truly get the feel of Madison, which, if you’ve ever been there, is an awesome environment to experience.
Now, with the dead period ending, the Wisconsin football team can host prospects in person again, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Badgers.
Let’s take a look at the prospects who will be visiting beautiful Madison, Wisconsin on June 4th.
Joe Brunner – OT
Joe Brunner (Milwaukee, WI) is the top-ranked prospect in the state of Wisconsin. He’s also the 7th-ranked offensive tackle and 55th overall player in the entire country. At 6-6 and 300 lbs, Brunner will certainly fit the mold of the typical offensive linemen for the Wisconsin football team. With the depth at the tackle position, it will be interesting to see if he gets bumped inside, should he come to Madison.
Brunner is a highly sought-after prospect. He has 19 scholarship offers from some big-time programs. Teams like Notre Dame, Ohio St., Iowa, Michigan, LSU, and Flordia St. are all after him.
He currently has visits set up with Wisconsin, Ohio St., and Notre Dame.
As of right now, Wisconsin seems to be in the lead to land Brunner. There are three Crystal Ball predictions on 247Sports, all predicting Wisconsin.
Carson Hinzman – OG
Carson Hinzman (Hammond, WI) is another highly-touted in-state lineman. He’s right behind Brunner as the second-ranked prospect in the state. He’s the 129th-ranked overall prospect in the country, according to 247Sports.
Like Brunner, Hinzman has a multitude of big-time offers. He holds 20 offers from other schools such as Alabama, Notre Dame, Iowa, Penn St., Auburn, LSU, Oregon, and more.
Hinzman has visits set up with Wisconsin, Notre Dame, and Iowa.
Currently, Badger247’s Evan Flood is the only one to make a Crystal Ball prediction for Hinzman, and it is in favor of the Badgers. Adding Brunner and Hinzman to the fold would be a huge win for the Wisconsin football program.
Isaac Hamm – DE
Another in-state kid, Isaac Hamm (Sun Prairie, WI) is a part of the original ‘Super Six’ in the ’22 recruiting class along with Brunner and Hinzman.
If you’ll remember, Hinzman is the player that Braelon Allen had his lifting wager with last summer.
The 4-star defensive end is the 5th-ranked prospect in the state and 308th overall. It kind of feels like Hamm is destined to go to Wisconsin, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Hamm holds 9 offers, all from Power 5 schools. Outside of Wisconsin, he has offers from Notre Dame, Ohio St., Penn St., Minnesota, Iowa, and more.
As of right now, Wisconsin is the only official visit he has set up.
Hamm has three Crystal Ball predictions, all going to Wisconsin.
Curtis Neal – DL
Curtis Neal (Cornelius, NC) is another big target for the Wisconsin football team. Bill Kurelic, the writer for Ohio St.’s 247Sports page, recently wrote an article (paywall) saying Neal could be picking between Wisconsin and Ohio St.
Neal is a 4-star defensive lineman and is the 327th-ranked prospect in the country. With Bryson Williams being a senior and the possibility that Keeanu Benton leaving early for the NFL Draft, the Badgers will need to add some depth at the defensive line. Neal would be a huge addition to the 2022 recruiting class.
Neal has visits set up with Wisconsin and Ohio St.
Currently, there is one Crystal Ball prediction for Neal. JC Shurburtt, 247Sports’ South Carolina insider, predicted Neal will go to Ohio St., but only gave a 3 (low) confidence level.
Nicholas Singelton – RB
Nicholas Singelton (Reading, PA) is one of the top running backs in the 2022 class. 247Sports has him ranked the 7th running back and 99th overall prospect in 2022.
With Wisconsin’s current running back situation, Singleton could have a chance to come in for the Badgers can contribute early on. He is likely the Badgers’ top target at running back in this class.
Singleton has over 30 offers to choose from. Outside of Wisconsin, he has offers from Penn St., Notre Dame, Auburn, Florida, Florida St., Ohio St., USC, and many more.
Singleton has visits set up with Wisconsin, Penn St., Notre Dame, and Alabama.
It could be tough to get him to leave Pennsylvania. Penn St. is currently the favorite to land him. Brian Dohn from 247Sports has his Crystal Ball to Penn St. with a 6 (medium) confidence level.
Austin Brown – S
Austin Brown (Johnston City, IL) may end up being the only safety the Badgers take in this class. He is the 43rd-ranked safety in the country and 694th overall.
I don’t know what kind of a position Wisconson is in with Brown. If you’ve been on social media, you may have seen that some members of the Illinois coaching staff went down to Johnston City while Brown wasn’t there for a ‘fishing trip.‘
Brown has 21 offers from schools like Wisconsin, Michigan, Northwestern, Illinois, Iowa, Louisville, and Purdue.
He currently has visits set up with Wisconsin, Michigan, and Northwestern.
He currently has no Crystal Ball prediction on 247Sports.
Felix Hixon – DL
Felix Hixon (Jackson, GA), is another defensive lineman visiting the Badgers on June 4th. Hixon is a 3-star defensive tackle and is the 43rd-ranked defensive tackle and 534th overall prospect in the country.
Hixon has 24 scholarship offers from schools like Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Florida St., Georgia, Louisville, and more. He had cut his list down to 10 teams, but only five of those got an official visit. Along with Wisconsin, Hixon will also be visiting South Carolina, Illinois, Georgia Tech, and Virginia, essentially making it a top-five list.
Right now, Hixon has two Crystal Ball predictions. There’s one for Virginia and one for South Carolina.
A’Khoury Lyde – CB
A’Khoury Lyde (Wayne, NJ) is one of two cornerbacks visiting Wisconsin on June 4th. Lyde is a 3-star cornerback from New Jersey. According to 247Sports, Lyde is the 71st ranked corner and 711th prospect overall in the country.
Lyde has 19 scholarship offers from teams like Wisconsin, Boston College, Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan St., and Pitt.
Right now, Lyde does not have a Crystal Ball prediction, but Wisconsin and Boston College seem to be the favorites right now because they are the only schools with official visits set up.
Caleb Coley – CB
Caleb Coley (Warner Robins, GA) is the second cornerback visiting Madison. Coley is a 3-star prospect out of Georgia. He is the 81st-ranked cornerback and the 836th overall prospect in the country.
Coley has 21 scholarship offers right now. Wisconsin is hoping to land him over teams like Michigan St., Georgia Tech, Miami, Ole Miss, Northwestern, and more.
He also has visits scheduled with Michigan St. and Northwestern.
Right now, Coley does not have a Crystal Ball prediction.
June 4th is going to be a big weekend for the future of Wisconsin football. It’s going to be tough for Paul Chryst to top the 2021 recruiting class, but if this weekend goes extremely well, he could be on his way to adding another big-time recruiting class for the Badgers.