Former Decorated Blue-Chip Recruit Finally Playing Like one at Badgers Fall Camp

Wisconsin's cornerback room has all sorts of good problems in fall camp.

Wisconsin CB Cai Bates. | Christian Borman.

As the battle at the field cornerback spot rages on between Jai'mier Scott and Eric Fletcher, with no clear frontrunner and no end in sight, another Badgers cornerback has flown well under the radar.

He shouldn't.

Florida State transfer Cai Bates has quietly had a tremendous fall camp. He looks just as capable as Scott, Fletcher or Javan Robinson on the outside, and this cornerback room truly appears to be four players deep.

That's a far cry from what the Badgers had to work with last year, and the upgrades to the overall depth and athleticism of this cornerback room under new position coach Robert Seeples has been well-documented.

But the quiet ascension of Bates and his tremendous play hasn't, and the former Seminole should be on Badgers' fans radar this fall.

Bates' impressive fall camp

Wisconsin CB Cai Bates lines up against wideout Malachi Coleman. | Christian Borman.

On paper, Bates is a long, rangy cornerback at 6-3. He looks the part on the field, and a few things have stood out to me about his play in fall camp.

First of all, he's extremely physical, like the rest of the cornerbacks in this room. He has no qualms with getting his uniform dirty and throwing his body around in the run game, even in a practice setting. That's exactly what you want to see from a perimeter cornerback in this defense that's looking to stay strong against the run.

What's more, his height is a problem for quarterbacks. It's nearly impossible to layer the ball over his gangly frame, and in coverage, he's been very solid.

Speaking to reporters during the latter half of fall camp, Steeples gave an answer that matched what my eyes told me about Bates.

“When you think spring ball to fall camp, I think the biggest jump is probably Cai Bates. He’s playing to his size, he’s playing big corner football. I really liked seeing that from him," he said.

Bates' blue-chip background

Wisconsin cornerback Cai Bates. | Christian Borman.

Bates spent two seasons at Florida State after signing with the Seminoles as a consensus four-star, top-125 player in the entire country. However, his game didn't take the necessary strides for him to see a consistent role.

Across two seasons in Tallahassee, he saw all of 26 defensive snaps.

Now, Bates appears to have unlocked his potential in Madison. A lot of that should be credited to Steeples, who's lauded as an excellent teacher of the game.

Once one of the biggest football recruits in the state of Florida, Bates is finally playing like it with the Badgers.