Player Previews: Can FSU Transfer CB Cai Bates See the Field This Fall?

The 6-foot-3 former blue-chip recruit oozes potential.

Wisconsin cornerback Cai Bates. | Christian Borman.

Over the course of the summer leading up to Big Ten Media Days and fall camp, Badgers On SI will extensively preview Wisconsin football's roster with a write-up for each player expected to be remotely involved in 2026.

We continue the series with an intriguing former blue-chip cornerback recruit, Florida State transfer Cai Bates.

2025 Stats

One tackle (seven games as a reserve).

Overview

Bates came to Wisconsin after two quiet seasons at Florida State. The former consensus four-star cornerback was a big-time recruit, ranked as the No. 113 prospect in the country per On3/Rivals and the No. 125 prospect nationally according to 247Sports. Regardless, he barely saw the field in Tallahassee, appearing in just 10 total games across two years with just 26 career snaps at cornerback.

Now, he's positioned to compete for snaps at outside corner in Madison. Arizona State transfer Javan Robinson has one of the starting corner spots locked up, but Bates should have a legitimate chance to compete with Jai'mier Scott and Eric Fletcher for that CB2 role at boundary corner.

Whether or not Bates secures a starting spot this fall, which seems extremely unlikely, he should still play some rotational snaps. New cornerbacks coach Robert Steeples has mentioned his desire to rotate corners frequently, and he's been described as a "big, strong corner" who has the ability to do "big corner stuff."

That's a new element for the Badgers; the tallest corner that played significant snaps last fall in Madison was the 6-foot tall D'Yoni Hill. The Badgers have gotten bigger, longer and faster at corner, and Bates is a significant part of that movement even if he doesn't play all that much this fall.

Best-Case Scenario

Bates has an uphill battle to the starting gig in Madison. As mentioned, the former Sun Devil Robinson is essentially locked into the starting field corner gig. Still, Bates could see plenty of rotational snaps this season, especially if he has a strong fall camp.

In a best-case scenario, Bates begins the season as a rotational corner but slowly works his way up the pecking order based on the quality of his reps. His size and length immediately become a big asset for when Wisconsin needs to go man-to-man on a bigger receiver, and despite being thrown into the fire, Bates emerges as a rising star on this defense despite limited reps.

Worst-Case Scenario

Bates has the opportunity to climb up the depth chart, but he may very well slide down it too. Scott is a promising young corner who garnered a significant amount of praise this spring, while Fletcher is a blazing fast transfer with Power Four starting experience. There's some legit competition in this room.

In a worst-case scenario for Bates, he's simply unable to unseat Scott and/or Fletcher for the second starting corner spot. In that case, he'd still likely be a second-stringer and would still play a handful of snaps here and there, with a chance to leapfrog into a starting role should anyone go down with injury.

Prediction

Either way, Bates should play the most snaps he ever has in his career. I see him easily surpassing the 26 snaps he took last fall, but a significant role may not be in the cards this season.

Again, the competition is stiff in this room. Truthfully, Bates appears to be a year away from being a significant contributor for the Badgers' defense, although shakeups at the top of the depth chart due to injury or otherwise are of course not unheard of.

I see Bates seeing the field sparingly this fall. I love the young corner's game, and his frame gets you really excited about what he can develop into in the future. Still, he was a depth addition when he signed with Wisconsin, and that's the role I envision for him.