Wisconsin Badgers weekly recruiting rundown (August 14)
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The Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams are each very busy.
The football team is midway through fall camp, preparing for their home opener against Illinois State on September 3, while the basketball team is in France for a 10-day excursion.
Despite the hectic schedules, recruiting never stops, and this week once again provided some new updates on the recruiting trail.
In an attempt to provide an overview of everything that happened during the past seven days, here is the weekly recruiting rundown.
Basketball: 2023 SF Bubu Benjamin to officially visit
Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers are seemingly all-in on Minnesota big man Nolan Winter, who recently took an official visit to Madison.
However, with two available scholarships for the 2023 class, the staff is still kicking the tires on a few wing prospects, including Canadian small forward Bubu Benjamin.
According to Garrett Tucker, Benjamin will take an official visit to Madison over the weekend of September 16.
The 6-foot-7 wing will also visit Santa Clara in August and has recently added scholarship offers from Lehigh, Montana State, and Northern Arizona after a strong performance in Las Vegas on the AAU circuit.
Benjamin is representing Canada on the National U18 team and is known for his outside shot and defensive abilities.
While the Badgers technically have two open scholarships for the 2023 class, there has been plenty of chatter that the team would prefer to roll one back for the loaded 2024 class. If that idea holds, Benjamin could be a good backup plan if Winter goes elsewhere. Winter recently postponed his official visit to Minnesota, so it will be interesting to see how Wisconsin navigates the timing of Benjamin's visit and Winter's decision.
Below are some recent highlights of the 6-foot-7 wing:
Football: Quarterback recruiting update
Still without a quarterback commit in the 2023 recruiting class, the Wisconsin Badgers continue to scour the market for potential signal callers.
Earlier this week, Steve Wiltfong of 247 Sports noted that the Badgers expressed interest in Iowa quarterback Jaxon Smolik at the time of his decommitment from Tulane. Smolik quickly committed to Penn State, but that was the first public rumblings of Wisconsin still in the market for a quarterback in 2023 for a few weeks.
Following Saturday's fall practice, offensive coordinator Bobby Engram was asked about the team's approach to quarterback recruiting this cycle and if he sees the staff bringing in a quarterback. Here is what he had to say:
"I think you go through the process like you normally would. You don't rush anything. I think we have some good talent identified that we are going to look to do a senior eval on. We will get our guy."
Based on the recent interest in Smolik and Engram's statement, it appears as though the staff is still planning to bring in a freshman quarterback. With high school football happening soon, the Badgers will likely wait on seeing senior film from the first couple of games before extending any new offers.
A couple of names to potentially know:
- Three-star QB Parker Leise (IMG Academy, Florida)
The Badgers have been in contact with Leise for some time, and he was high on their recruiting board after camping at Wisconsin over the summer. Leise will be playing at IMG Academy this fall, and he could see his recruitment take off with a big senior season.
- Three-star QB Raheim Jeter (Spartanburg HS, South Carolina)
Wisconsin had Jeter up to camp with the team a couple of years ago, but the Badgers did not offer at the time. He recently backed away from his longstanding pledge from West Virginia at the end of July though and has since added an offer from Rutgers. With good size at 6-foot-3 and plus athleticism, Jeter fits the mold as someone the staff could target if he plays well early this fall.
Related links:
- Game recap: Wisconsin basketball wins third game in France by 31
- Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz focusing on consistency heading into 2022
- Four Wisconsin football players make The Athletic's 'Freaks List'
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