Wisconsin Football: Can the Badgers clean up in-state prospects?

It’s no secret that the in-state 2022 Wisconsin football class is loaded with talent. The top prospects were once dubbed the ‘Super Six’ before Wisconsin football commit Braelon Allen reclassified to the 2021 class. That left the class with five 4-star prospects, according to the 2022 247Sports ratings.

The number four prospect out of Wisconsin, tight end Jerry Cross, out of Milwaukee, has already committed to Penn St. The other 4-star prospects, Joe Brunner, Carson Hinzman, Billy Schrauth, and Isaac Hamm are all on Wisconsin’s radar, and the Badgers are apparently in a pretty good position with all of them.

All four of those prospects were on campus for an official visit on the first weekend of June as a part of that star-studded recruiting weekend for the Badgers. There has been plenty of news for each prospect coming out after that big weekend, so let’s take a dive into Where Wisconsin stands with each of the remaining top prospects in the state of Wisconsin.

Joe Brunner – OL

Joe Brunner is considered the top prospect in Wisconsin. He is a 4-star offensive tackle and the 7th overall offensive tackle in the country, per 247Sports. Brunner has offers from plenty of big-time schools like Notre Dame, Ohio State, and more, but Wisconsin is considered the favorite to land him.

247Sports’ Crystal Ball has three predictions for Brunner, all to Wisconsin.

Brunner would be a huge commitment for the Badgers. It’s no secret a lot of the players in 2022 would like to play together.  If he or Hinzman commit to Wisconsin, I don’t think the other would be far behind.

Carson Hinzman – OL

Carson Hinzman is another top prospect in Wisconsin. He is likely going to be an interior offensive lineman. He is considered a top-5 interior offensive lineman in the nation according to 247Sports. He has offers from teams like Ohio St., Alabama, Notre Dame, Iowa, and more.

Currently, the Badgers are the favorites to land Hinzman. He has one Crystal Ball prediction and it is in favor of Wisconsin football with a confidence level of 6 (medium).

Billy Schrauth – OL

Billy Schrauth is probably the biggest mystery of the group right now. Notre Dame has been the reported favorite to land Schrauth for quite a while now, but things may have changed when he took his official visit to Wisconsin over the June 4th weekend.

If you have a subscription to 247Sports, check out what Badger247’s Evan Flood wrote about Schrauth. He says the Badgers made a move for Schrauth while he visited and it may have changed his recruitment in a big way.

Wisconsin pulled out the big guns, having him on campus with Hinzman, Hamm, and Brunner. Quarterback Myles Burkett even showed up, even though he wasn’t on an official visit.

He visited Notre Dame and didn’t pull the trigger on a commitment. I think that news bodes well for Wisconsin football. If they can sneak Schrauth away from Notre Dame, that would be a huge recruiting victory for the Badgers.

The Crystal Ball predictions for Schrauth are all still in favor of Notre Dame, but the confidence levels have gone down. Evan Flood changed him to a 3 (low).

Isaac Hamm – DL

Isaac Hamm is the top defensive recruit in Wisconsin. The 4-star defensive lineman is one of Wisconsin football’s top targets. He also was a part of the visits on June 4, and things seem to be going in Wisconsin’s favor. Hamm has a final four of Wisconsin, Ohio St., Notre Dame, and Penn St. Something to note is that he doesn’t have an official visit set up with another school yet, but that could change.

Right now, I think Wisconsin is sitting in a pretty good position to land Hamm.

Remaining in-state talent

Even after the five remaining ‘Super Six’ players, there are still some quality prospects in the state of Wisconsin. For starters, the lone commit for Wisconsin football 2022 class, quarterback Myles Burkett. Burkett is considered a 3-star prospect but is still the 40th overall quarterback in the country.

Along with Burkett are players like tight end Andrew Keller, of Waunakee, who has seen his recruitment blow up the past couple of months. Right now, Iowa is the current favorite to land Keller, but a Wisconsin offer could change that, assuming they offer before it is too late.

Offensive tackle Barrett Nelson, brother of current Wisconsin football player, Jack Nelson, is also a prospect in this class. Right now, Wisconsin is considered the favorite to land Nelson, who is a 3-star offensive tackle out of Fall River, WI.

If I had to make a prediction, I think the Badgers will end up getting commitments from Brunner, Hinzman, Hamm, Burkett, and Nelson.

I am cautiously optimistic that the Badgers can get Schrauth too. If some of the other players commit and maybe get in Schrauth’s ear a bit more, I think he could come too. So I’m going to go with a 50/50 shot that the Badgers get him, which are much better odds than I would have predicted just a couple of weeks ago.

I think Keller ends up at Iowa, especially considering Wisconsin hasn’t offered him yet.

It may be slow right now, but I think the Badgers will strike it big with the in-state recruits in their 2022 class, getting at least four of their top six targets in the state, five is Schrauth follows suit.