BREAKING: Wisconsin Makes a Huge Move Flipping Four-Star DB from Florida State

The Badgers make a huge move on the recruiting trail, landing one of the top players in the country.

Wisconsin football commit Mekhi Williams | @Mekhiwilliams__

Just when you think the 2027 recruiting class for the Wisconsin football team couldn't get any hotter, they go and prove you wrong. Again.

The loaded class has already landed three commitments following the Badgers' first weekend of official visits. Now, they landed their fourth in as many days and possibly their biggest of the cycle with the commitment of 4-star defensive back Mekhi Williams.

Williams had been committed to Florida State for over a year, giving his pledge to the Seminoles in March of 2025. The Badgers got into the game well after that point, offering the Florida prospect almost a year later in February 2026. But in that short time, defensive back coach Paul Haynes got the Badgers in the mix quickly and were able to get him on campus during spring practices.

One thing led to another, and suddenly the Badgers had him coming to Madison during their first weekend of official visits, a time they are notorious for hosting many of their top targets. On Sunday after his visit, Williams de-committed from Florida State, and suddenly the Badgers became the favorites to land Williams.

He announced his commitment to the Badgers live on the CBS Sports College Football YouTube channel on Wednesday night, giving Wisconsin its 17th commitment in the 2027 class.

Mekhi Williams Recruiting Profile

Williams instantly becomes the Badgers' top-ranked prospect in the 2027 class, jumping ahead of 4-star running back Kingston Allen.

According to the 247Sports player rankings, Williams is the 107th-ranked player in the country, the No. 10 safety, and the No. 10 player in the state of Florida.

Aside from the Badgers, LSU was getting heavily involved with Williams, but he ultimately chose the Badgers over LSU and Nebraska, along with about 20 other Division 1 schools.

A scouting report for Williams, via Andrew Ivins, the Director of Scouting at 247Sports:

-Deep safety with ballhawk tendencies that has impressed as a man-to-man defender.
-Tall and lean, but on pace to start college well before 17th birthday.
-Gets to all different corners of the field with his range as he flips the hips to gain depth or charges forward to keep containment.
-Swarms the catch point and gets his hands on passes (10 interceptions in 30 varsity games).
-Will come to balance as an open-field tackler, but needs to improve play strength in hopes of finding more stopping power.
-Got looks on the perimeter as a junior and has shown the ability to hang in 1-on-1 situations.
-Will likely need a redshirt year to get the body right, but combination of length, speed and production suggests that he can be an impact player in a Power Four secondary.

Andrew Ivins - 247Sports

The Wisconsin coaching staff must have seen something similar to Ivins in terms of where he could play defensively. Despite being listed as a safety on 247Sports and On3, the Badgers likely view Williams as a corner rather than a safety. Assisting Haynes in his recruitment was Robert Steeples, the Badgers' cornerbacks coach, not Jack Cooper, their safeties coach.

If that is the case, the Badgers just added their second cornerback to the 2027 class. 3-star cornerback Royalton Allen, who was also on his official visit this past weekend with Williams just committed to Wisconsin yesterday.