Tag: Nolan Rucci

Badger football players now able to return to campus for in-person workouts

As many outlets reported a few days ago, today–June 8–is the day that Wisconsin football players are allowed to return to campus and…

As many outlets reported a few days ago, today–June 8–is the day that Wisconsin football players are allowed to return to campus and begin in-person workouts.

The workouts are expected to begin as low-number, weight room activities with an expansion in numbers and more coming if the first phase of the return goes well.

As if this recruiting season wasn’t exciting and suspenseful enough, Todd Rucci–the father of current Badger Hayden Rucci and five-star offensive tackle Nolan Rucci–tweeted yesterday a picture of the three returning Hayden to campus.

If the rumor mill wants to get going, Nolan Rucci–the nation’s No. 14 overall player and No. 3 offensive tackle—is thought by 247Sports to be choosing between Wisconsin and Penn State with his brother currently at Wisconsin and his parents both alumni of Penn State.

He was here this weekend, that is all.

In total, this news of players returning to campus is a good sign for the college football season starting on-time in early September–September 4 for the Badgers–as everyone around the country awaits the return of sports to everyday life.

Wisconsin’s 2021 class moves up one spot in 247Sports’ recruiting rankings

As a check-in on 247Sports’ recruiting rankings with the Badgers currently in the conversation to land several top prospects-all guys set to commit in the near future-their 2021 class has moved up one spot to No. 16 in the nation. This ranking comes …

As a check-in on 247Sports’ recruiting rankings with the Badgers currently in the conversation to land several top prospects–all guys set to commit in the near future–their 2021 class has moved up one spot to No. 16 in the nation.

This ranking comes with names including T.J. Bollers, Nolan Rucci, Terrance Ferguson and Ricardo Hallman all though to be announcing their commitments in the near future and the Badgers among the finalists on each of their lists.

The No. 16-ranked 2021 recruiting class is already lining up to be the best in program history, though with recent news of Deacon Hill being set to receive a ratings bump and more players not yet committed the class could push towards the top-10.

A story last season and over the last few years has been the gap between Badgers’ and Ohio State Buckeyes recruiting–with Wisconsin only having nine four/five-star recruits on their roster last season and the Buckeyes seemingly landing nine-or-more new ones every year.

We saw what happened in the Big Ten Championship when Paul Chryst‘s unit gave Ohio State a run for its money, so only time will tell if the incoming 2021 class will be able to reverse the recent trend of Buckeye-over-Badger championship games.

 

Who Do The Irish Turn to Now at Offensive Tackle in ’21 Class?

Although Notre Dame missed out on Florida’s offensive tackle Caleb Johnson, there are still plenty of big fish out there.

The Irish missed out on one of their top offensive line targets today when Florida offensive tackle Caleb Johnson committed to Auburn. Johnson would have been a nice addition to the already committed tackle Blake Fisher and guard Pat Coogan and now Brian Kelly and offensive line coach Jeff Quinn will turn their attention to other prospects.

Of the current offensive tackles that have Irish offers it seems as if Pennsylvania’s Nolan Rucci is the biggest fish out there. A massive 6’8” frame is the prototype for a tackle and at 290-pounds Rucci looks skinny. Rucci should be first off the bus when his high school travels, he’s just a massive human. He moves extremely well for his size and will be able to add on good weight and end up around 320-pounds. Kelly and Quinn should turn the heat up on Rucci’s recruitment after the Irish were included in his Top 9 released last month.

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Staying with tackles the Irish realistically have a chance at securing a commit from, Texas’ Matthew Wykoff should be next on the list. The 6’6” and 300-pound Texan released a Top 7 without the Irish on it, but don’t worry, that was prior to getting an offer and making an impression on the young man. It will be hard to get him out of Texas, but if Brian Polian, who is his lead recruiter, can get in his ear often, the Irish will have a shot with Wykoff.

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Out east in Connecticut is another massive tackle in Tristan Bounds. Another first off the bus guy for his high school, Bounds stands also at 6’8” and weights 285-pounds. The Irish have made his Top 8 list and have a great shot at the bookend tackle. Bounds might not be as highly ranked as the other two tackles the Irish are persuing, but that shouldn’t matter much. He is talented and have a very high ceiling, even if he needs a few years to get acclimated to this level.

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As for guards, the Notre Dame staff has extended only three offers, Texas’ Donovan Jackson committed to Ohio State while Coogan verballed to the Irish last month. Michigan’s Rocco Spindler is the lone man standing at guard and the main competition looks to be from Michigan. Spindler will trim his list down from 10 schools to 5 a week from today, and expect the Irish to make the cut for the 6’4” and 290-pound prospect.

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The Irish have a great shot with all four of these prospects and there is bound to be a few new prospects that pop up between now and signing day. I am a huge fan of the way Kelly is attacking the offensive line, go after as many tackles as possible and if they need to move to guard, it’s a much easier transition. If I had to make a guess as to who the Irish end up with to finish the 2021 offensive line class it would be Spindler and Bounds. Time will tell if I am right, but the Irish are in good position with each of these prospects.

Michigan makes top group for 2021 five-star OT

The Wolverines make the cut for one of the nation’s best offensive linemen.

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While Michigan hasn’t been discussed much in his recruitment as of late, 2021 Lilitz (PA) Warwick five-star offensive tackle Nolan Rucci made sure the world knew the Wolverines are still in it for him.

Rated as the No. 13 player in the country regardless of position according to the 247Sports Composite, Rucci is heavily expected to either stay put and go to Penn State or head south to perennial contender Clemson, according to the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions.

But, as he released his Top 9 schools on Monday morning, the Wolverines made the cut, though so did a lot of of other premier schools in the country, such as Ohio State, Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame, Stanford, Wisconsin and the aforementioned contenders Clemson and Penn State.

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Still, one person told WolverinesWire that Michigan has continued to make Rucci a high priority, with offensive line coach Ed Warinner leading the charge. And given his track record, even in the 2021 class, the Wolverines have shown they can pull in top targets on the OL, with three four-star commitments in Giovanni El-Hadi, Greg Crippen and Raheem Anderson.

It will be a tough challenge, still, to be sure, given the other schools that made the cut. But don’t count the maize and blue out until he makes his final decision considering their recruiting efforts.

Badgers in the top-9 for 2021’s No. 3 offensive tackle

Five-star 2021 recruit Nolan Rucci, the nation’s third-ranked offensive tackle in his class, announced his top-9 schools earlier today…

Five-star 2021 recruit Nolan Rucci, the nation’s third-ranked offensive tackle in his class, announced his top-9 schools earlier today and Wisconsin was among those listed, per his Twitter page.

Nolan Rucci is the younger brother of current Badger Hayden Rucci and is rated by 247Sports as the No. 13 recruit in the nation, again the No. 3 offensive tackle recruit and the No. 1 recruit from his home state of Pennsylvania.

The recruiting analysts at 247Sports currently believe that the Lititz, P.A. native is likely to sign with Penn State, his parents alma mater. In an article published April 15, however, 247Sports recruiting director Steve Wiltfong wrote that he believes the Badgers to still have a good shot at landing Rucci.

As seen above, the other schools listed in his top-9 include Alabama, LSU, Clemson, Michigan, Ohio State, Stanford, Notre Dame and Penn State.

Were the Warwick High School native to commit to the Badgers he would join a program with a long history of success at his position, one that saw eight former Badger offensive linemen on NFL rosters in 2019.

 

 

Recruiting expert believes the Badgers have a good shot at landing a top 2021 offensive tackle 

247Sports recruiting director Steve Wiltfong wrote yesterday that he believes five-star 2021 recruit Nolan Rucci is leaning towards…

247Sports recruiting director Steve Wiltfong wrote yesterday that he believes five-star 2021 recruit Nolan Rucci is leaning towards joining either Wisconsin or Penn State next fall.

The Pennsylvania native is the 13th-ranked overall recruit and 3rd-ranked offensive tackle in the nation and the highest-rated player in his state.

Rucci’s older brother, Hayden, is a current tight end for Paul Chryst and the Badgers but the brothers’ parents both attended Penn State.

The Warwick High School standout has offers from top schools including Clemson, Alabama and Notre Dame in addition to the Badgers and the Nittany Lions.

247Sports national recruiting analyst Brian Dohn, however, predicted Penn State is still the favorite to land the tackle with Clemson also having a legitimate shot.

Rucci tweeted on April 12 that he is taking a week off from his recruiting so it is unlikely a decision is coming soon.

The Badgers have an exceptional history at the position and adding Rucci would no doubt be massive news for the program.

Georgia football offers huge 5-star OT

The Georgia Bulldogs have offered a scholarship to Nolan Rucci, a massive five-star offensive tackle in the class of 2021

The Georgia Bulldogs have offered a scholarship to Nolan Rucci, a massive five-star offensive tackle in the class of 2021. Rucci plays for Warwick High School in Lititz, Pennsylvania.

Kirby Smart, Matt Luke, and the University of Georgia are still looking for their first offensive line commitment in the class of 2021. Recruiting is currently in a dead period, but this is an important time of the year. The Dawgs have secured three commitments in the class of 2021 and are looking to beef up the class once the dead period ends.

Nolan Rucci is excited to receive an offer from UGA:

Rucci’s recruitment is linked heavily to the Clemson Tigers, who he visited a couple of weeks ago. In-state powerhouse Penn State won’t go down without a fight for the five-star lineman.

Rucci, like most five-stars, is receiving massive amounts of recruiting interest throughout the county. Rucci himself is quite massive at six-foot, eight-inches tall. Rucci can afford to pack some pounds on to his 290 pound  weight, but he’s got the ideal length for an offensive lineman. It’ll be tough for defensive ends to get around his massive frame.

We’ll continue to update you throughout his recruiting process.

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Notre Dame Suffers Rare Recruiting Loss to West Virginia

That streak ended Friday evening as West Virginia got a big win over Notre Dame. At least in terms of recruiting.

Perhaps the West Virginia Mountaineers football program was just due to get a victory over Notre Dame. Since the teams first met in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl, the Fighting Irish have won all four contests the teams have played on the field.

That streak ended Friday evening as West Virginia got a big win over Notre Dame. At least in terms of recruiting.

Wyatt Milum, an offensive tackle rated as a top 25 player in the entire 2021 recruiting class by 247Sports announced Friday that’d he be taking his talents to West Virginia next year.

Notre Dame has a strong start in recruiting for 2021 but this one no-doubt stings. It’s one thing to lose out on prospects to Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson or LSU. It’s another when West Virginia wins the services of players you so badly want.

It may seem odd but it’s hard to knock a young man for staying home. I can relate as I always thought I wanted to go a huge school far from home…and then I wound up at a tiny one an hour away.

Either way the push for a second offensive tackle in this class now becomes a bigger concern. Landon Tengwell of Maryland and Nolan Rucci of Pennsylvania are just two of several possibilities there.

If there is a silver lining in this it’s that at least it happened now and not down the road when Notre Dame’s staff was thinking a commitment was certainly coming and time was instead wasted.

Either way, Jeff Quinn (OL Coach) will need to do his best Mariano Rivera impression soon and close another one of these tackles commitments out to join Avon, Indiana’s four star Blake Fisher.

Wisconsin’s top five remaining targets in class of 2021

With Wisconsin’s 2020 recruiting class finished for the most part, here’s a look at its top remaining targets in the next class.

Wisconsin’s 2020 recruiting class is just about finished after it signed 19 players on the first day of the Early Signing Period on Wednesday, though the Badgers are still hoping to add a running back to the group before National Signing Day in February.

With the 2020 class locked up, Wisconsin can fully set its sights on a 2021 group that is already off to a phenomenal start with seven players committed: three-star inside linebacker Bryan Sanborn (Lake Zurich, Ill.), three-star defensive end/outside linebacker Ayo Adebogun (Thiensville, Wis.), four-star offensive tackles JP Benzschawel (Grafton, Wis.) and Riley Mahlman (Lakeville, Minn.), three-star running backs Jackson Acker (Verona, Wis.) and Loyal Crawford (Eau Claire, Wis.) and three-star quarterback Deacon Hill (Santa Barbara, Calif.).

While the Badgers have already landed some of their top targets in the class, there is obviously much work still to be done. Here are the top five players still left on their board.

Hunter Wohler – Safety

A four-star safety from Muskego, Wohler was the first in-state player the Badgers offered in this recruiting cycle.

Wisconsin was the first school to offer the 6-1, 180-pounder back in January, but he’s since become a hot commodity nationally: now considered the No. 241 overall player in the country per the 247Sports composite, Wohler holds other offers from Notre Dame, Ohio State, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota.

At this point, the Badgers have to be considered the favorites here. Like many in-state kids Wisconsin targets, Wohler grew up a Badger fan, and the staff has made it clear he’s arguably their top priority in the entire class. However, the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish could make Bucky sweat a little.

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