Wisconsin Badgers spring recruiting update: 2023 running backs
With spring football in full swing and the coaching staff welcoming a plethora of 2023 and 2024 recruits to campus, the Wisconsin Badgers and their recruiting efforts are ramping up ahead of summer official visits.
With that in mind, over the next two weeks, we will look at three players to watch at each position group in the 2023 recruiting class as the Badgers look to close on some of their top targets under the direction of recruiting coordinator Mickey Turner.
New offers are bound to come out, and recruitments seem to change at the drop of a hat, but let's look at the running backs to know for the 2023 class at this time.
Previous 2023 position updates:
Nate White
Running back Nate White out of Rufus King High School in Milwaukee is arguably the top player in the state of Wisconsin in the 2023 class.
The Badgers extended an offer to the three-star tailback just over a month ago and are one of the top contenders for his services.
White currently holds additional offers from Iowa State, Kansas, Minnesota, Northern Illinois, Purdue, Vanderbilt, and Western Michigan, and recently wrapped up visits to both Iowa State and Purdue.
A fast and athletic runner, White is the only player from Wisconsin to receive an offer from the Badgers at this time. After a big junior season in which he ran for 1,100 yards and 22 touchdowns, he vaulted up UW's recruiting board this spring and earned an offer while visiting Madison last month.
White is one of the key names to know in the 2023 cycle for the Badgers.
JT Smith
Wisconsin has been in a good spot with JT Smith for a while now.
The Badgers offered Smith last June, and have been recruiting him hard ever since.
In addition to Wisconsin's longstanding running back tradition, the Badgers have a strong relationship with his high school working in their favor.
Smith is close with freshman nose tackle Curt Neal, and the Badgers have signed a player in three of the past four recruiting cycles out of Williams Amos Hough High School in North Carolina.
Wisconsin is not alone in Smith's recruiting, however. Boston College, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Charlotte, East Carolina, Minnesota, Missouri, Penn State, and Virginia have also offered the three-star running back.
The Badgers have had Smith on campus multiple times and will look to get him back on campus this summer for an official visit to potentially seal the deal. There is a long way to go in his recruitment still, but TJ Smith and Nate White sit atop the running back board for the 2023 class.
Dylan Edwards
Expected to take two running backs in this cycle, the Badgers have focused their energy of late on White and Smith.
Dylan Edwards took a visit to Madison last season, but the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year seems to be trending towards staying in Big 12 country lately. The Badgers are not entirely out of the race for Edwards and are still in contact, but we will see if they can get him on campus again this summer so he can meet new running backs coach Al Johnson.
Wisconsin has offers out to a number of high-profile running backs in the 2023 class, including Edwards, but I think the two names to closely watch over the next few months are Nate White and JT Smith.
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