After class of 2021 Wisconsin commits Darryl Peterson and Jack Pugh received news this week that Ohio will be playing high school football this fall, the key remaining Badger target in the class received similar good news from his home state of Pennsylvania.
He is five-star offensive tackle Nolan Rucci, 247Sports’ No. 13 overall prospect in the class of 2021, the No. 4 offensive tackle, the No. 1 player from the state of Pennsylvania and the No. 413-ranked recruit of all time.
Pennsylvania HS football has been approved, but not Penn State. https://t.co/gc5n376JXf
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 21, 2020
He now along with Peterson, Pugh and others will play their senior season of high school football before entering the college ranks next season.
Rucci’s destination is still unknown, though, as Wisconsin, Penn State and Clemson are all thought to have a good shot at landing him–as 247Sports’ crystal ball projection gives Penn State a 50 percent chance to get his commitment, Wisconsin 37.5 percent and Clemson 12.5 percent.
As is the case with many top recruits, rumors come out weekly about which schools gain a lead or fall behind in the recruiting process. If Badger fans want good news after a week of coping with the fact that football won’t be played this fall here’s this: three weeks ago a piece came out saying the program was “in a great position” to land the five-star offensive tackle.
Who knows where the recruiting trail leads for Rucci, but if the Badgers were to land him they would complete a 2021 class that would by all accounts be the best in program history and possibly in the nation’s top-10.
Check back in to BadgersWire throughout the fall as we follow Rucci’s recruiting process and see if the Badgers end up landing the top recruit in program history.