Wisconsin Badgers weekly recruiting rundown (August 7)
This week provided plenty of recruiting news for the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams.
Both squads secured commitments this week from preferred walk-ons with plus athleticism to be excited about and made some new moves that could lead to commitments down the road.
However, the basketball team also missed out on some key targets in upcoming classes.
In an attempt to provide an overview of everything that happened during the past seven days, here is the weekly recruiting rundown.
Basketball: Jack Janicki accepts a walk-on offer
Greg Gard and the Badgers landed a key walk-on commitment on Wednesday, landing White Bear Lake High School (Minn.) standout Jack Janicki.
The sweet-shooting lefty turned down several scholarship opportunities, including Colorado State, Santa Clara, and Wake Forest.
Janicki is a tremendous walk-on addition and averaged over 24 points per game at the prep level last season. His shooting ability and length at 6-foot-5 will give him a chance to contribute down the road at Wisconsin, and it would not be a surprise to see him earn a scholarship after a few years in the program.
Janicki was recently on campus for a visit and previously attended Wisconsin's advanced camp, where he was one of the top performers.
A 2023 recruit, he joins John Blackwell and Gus Yalden in the current class.
You can read All Badgers' full commitment breakdown for Janicki here.
Basketball: Nolan Winter officially visits Madison
Arguably the top remaining target in the 2023 cycle, stretch forward Nolan Winter was on campus for an official visit earlier this week.
The Minnesota native enjoyed his trip and is ready to visit the Gophers in the coming weeks according to multiple reports.
A Minnesota legacy, the Badgers are hoping the visit was enough to overtake their Big Ten rival and add Winter as the final piece to their 2023 class. At 6-foot-11, Winter would be a significant addition to the roster, and his game translates nicely to Wisconsin's style of play.
Basketball: Wisconsin misses on a pair of 2023 wings
The Badgers were heavily involved with guards Jamie Kaiser and Gehrig Normand for the past few months, including official visits with each.
However, this week the two rising prospects cut out the Badgers in their recruitments and will instead head elsewhere.
Kaiser announced a final three of Indiana, Maryland, and Virginia as his profile on the recruiting trail continues to trend up. An extremely athletic wing prospect, the Badgers were one of his earliest offers but were unable to close down his recruitment before it took off.
Similarly, the Badgers recently hosted Texas shooting guard Gehrig Normand on an official visit last month, however an official visit to Michigan State this week brought about a commitment to the Spartans.
The two misses align closely with Wisconsin accepting a walk-on commitment from Janicki, and the Badgers are now more likely to focus on forwards such as Winter to close out the class.
Football: Ethan Crisp receives 'official offer'
Each year on August 1, schools can extend "official" scholarship offers. These offers show prospects that their scholarship opportunity is committable and is an exciting event for players across the country.
As expected, several committed prospects took to social media to announce their official offers, but so did Vanderbilt commit Ethan Crisp.
A three-star athlete out of Tennessee, the Badgers previously offered Crisp as an outside linebacker before his commitment to the Commodores and he is a name to watch this fall if the team can get him on campus for an official visit. Wisconsin has not stopped recruiting him, which is notable considering the Badgers would like to add one more outside linebacker in the 2023 class if possible.
Football: Wisconsin lands DE Will McDonald
The Badgers added another member to their 2023 recruiting class this week, securing a preferred walk-on commitment from Will McDonald of Hudson, Wisconsin.
McDonald earned the opportunity a week ago, and exactly one week later, he was the newest Wisconsin commit.
A consensus three-star recruit, McDonald turned down scholarship opportunities with Iowa State, Kansas, and others in favor of joining his older brother Cade in Madison.
You can read our entire commitment breakdown, with quotes from Will about his commitment here.
Football: New offer goes out in California
The Badgers made a late offer to 2023 cornerback Rodrick Pleasant on Monday.
The four-star prospect out of California is likely to stay out West, with offers from many of the top schools in the Pac-12, including USC, but Wisconsin is the latest school to enter the race.
Pleasant will take official visits this fall, and it will be interesting to see how quickly the Badgers can get involved. Wisconsin will need to get one of his official visits to have a chance, though USC is the top contender at this point.
You can read more about the offer to Pleasant here.
Related links:
- Senior safety John Torchio previews his senior season with the Wisconsin Badgers
- Wisconsin fullback Jackson Acker growing into new role on offense
- Wisconsin offensive line coach Bob Bostad sheds light on right tackle competition
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