Tag: visit

Former Wisconsin basketball star Chucky Hepburn visits an ACC power

Chucky Hepburn arrived for a big-time visit on Wednesday night:

Former Wisconsin basketball star Chucky Hepburn is visiting Louisville, according to a report from ESPN.

Hepburn surprisingly entered the transfer portal on April 18 after three years as one of Wisconsin’s on-court leaders. He entered after playing in 103 games as a Badger, and averaging 32.1 minutes, 9.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals on 42% shooting and 36% from three.

Related: An updated list of Wisconsin basketball’s transfer portal targets

The veteran point guard immediately received an On3 transfer prediction to choose Louisville. It appears there’s momentum toward that conclusion, as Ty Spalding of Rivals posted a photo Wednesday night of Hepburn arriving for his visit.

Louisville hired head coach Pat Kelsey this offseason after firing former head coach Kenny Payne after an 8-24 2023-24 season. The program has only won 25 combined games over the last three years and has not had a winning season since 2020-21, though the fan and booster support maintains it as one of the sport’s powers.

As Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard recently discussed, NIL earnings are what drove both Hepburn and star guard A.J. Storr to transfer — and the Badgers didn’t get a chance to match any offers for the former.

The Cardinals currently appear to be the leaders to land the former Badger star, given all of the available evidence.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Packers hosted Missouri S Jaylon Carlies on top 30 pre-draft visit

The Green Bay Packers hosted Missouri safety Jaylon Carlies on a top 30 visit ahead of the 2024 NFL draft,

The Green Bay Packers hosted Missouri safety Jaylon Carlies on a top 30 visit ahead of the 2024 NFL draft, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Teams are allowed to host up to 30 prospects on visits ahead of the draft. Packers Wire is tracking all the reported visits here.

Carlies (6-2, 227) produced 221 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, 17 pass breakups and nine interceptions over 48 games and 40 starts at Missouri. He had 60 or more tackles and intercepted multiple passes in three straight seasons.

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Carlies ran the 40-yard dash in 4.50 seconds, hit 32.5″ in the vertical leap, covered 10-5 in the broad jump and did 20 reps on the bench press at the combine. He later improved his vertical to 34.5″ and bench press to 22 reps while also completing the short shuttle in 4.46 seconds and the three-cone drill in 7.03 seconds at the Missouri pro day. His Relative Athletic Score is 9.08 out of 10.0.

Some believe he needs to make the switch to off-ball linebacker at the next level. He is experienced on special teams with almost 500 career snaps at Missouri.

Carlies participated at the East-West Shrine Bowl. He is the No. 237 overall player on the consensus big board and the No. 17 overall safety for Dane Brugler of The Athletic, meaning Carlies is likely to be a Day 3 pick.

Former Wisconsin Badgers guard visits a third Big Ten rival

Former Wisconsin Badgers guard visits a third Big Ten rival

Former Wisconsin guard Connor Essegian visited Big Ten rival Nebraska on Thursday, according to On3’s Robin Washut.

The sharpshooter has visited South Carolina, plus Big Ten rivals Maryland, Indiana and now Nebraska.

Related: An updated look at Wisconsin basketball’s 2024-25 roster after Chucky Hepburn’s departure

Essegian seems to have found solid footing since entering the transfer portal after Wisconsin’s 2023-24 season came to a close. The season was a struggle for the sophomore, with his numbers dropping to just 7.3 minutes and 3.2 points per game.

But schools see the potential from his freshman campaign which included per-game averages of 27.4 minutes and 11.7 points.

The former Badger is considering a Nebraska program that made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014 this past season. Head coach Fred Hoiberg has the Cornhuskers headed in the right direction, and is now looking to take the next step into contention.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Wisconsin locks in official visit with 2025 tight end Nizyi Davis

Wisconsin locks in official visit with 2025 tight end Nizyi Davis

Wisconsin football locked in an official visit with class of 2025 tight end Nizyi Davis on Wednesday.

Davis will be on campus May 31-June 2 during a busy official visit weekend.

Related: Wisconsin football 2024 spring transfer portal window tracker

The three-star tight end is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 776 player in the class of 2025, No. 39 tight end and No. 10 recruit from his home state of Indiana.

Wisconsin and in-state Purdue are the two schools to have scheduled visits with the Indianapolis, Indiana native. Other notable schools on his offer sheet include Cincinnati, Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan State and West Virginia.

Luke Fickell’s class of 2025 currently has eight players committed — two of which cross the blue-chip threshold. The group currently ranks No. 19 in the nation at this early stage in the cycle.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Wisconsin football locks in official visit with one of 2025’s top running backs

Wisconsin football locks in official visit with one of 2025’s top running backs

Wisconsin football locked in a June 7-9 official visit with top class of 2025 running back Byron Louis on Sunday.

Louis is 247Sports’ No. 203 player in the class of 2025, No. 15 running back and No. 29 recruit from his home state of Florida.

Related: Ranking Wisconsin football’s incoming transfers by expected impact in 2024 season

The Badgers are among the top running back’s final 10 schools along with Miami, Penn State, Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Tennessee, USC, Florida State and Oklahoma.

Wisconsin does not have a running back committed to its 2025 class. The program’s class ranks 21st with seven  commitments and zero blue-chip players.

247Sports notes the Badgers are one of three programs to lock in an official visit with Louis, joining Miami (May 31) and Alabama (June 14).

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Blue-chip 2025 WR reschedules Florida visit to Thursday

The 4-star pass-catcher was supposed to be in Gainesville a few weeks ago but instead will arrive in town on Thursday.

Billy Napier and Co. have been busy this month split between spring practices for the current players while also hosting potential future members of the Orange and Blue to get a gander at what the Gators are cooking in the Swamp.

Four-star wide receiver [autotag]Cortez Mills[/autotag] out of Homestead (Florida) in the 2025 cycle was supposed to make a trip to Gainesville on March 23, but those plans fell through. Instead, the 6-foot-1-inch, 170-pound pass-catcher will be on campus this Thursday ahead of the program’s annual Orange and Blue game, according to Swamp247.

The in-state product also plans to visit the Oklahoma Sooners on April 20 and he has already met with the Miami Hurricanes thrice this spring. He has an official visit set with the Gators for the weekend of June 7, plus the Clemson Tigers, Nebraska Cornhuskers and Miami as well.

Recruiting Summary

Mills is ranked No. 97 overall and No. 12 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 124 and 14, respectively.

The ‘Cames hold two crystal ball predictions for the Sunshine State recruit while On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine agrees with a 48.2% chance of signing him; Florida (15.6%), Nebraska (13.4%) and Clemson (8.4%) trail behind.

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Packers hosting Alabama CB Kool-Aid McKinstry on top-30 pre-draft visit

The Green Bay Packers are hosting Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry on top 30 visit ahead of the 2024 NFL draft.

The Green Bay Packers are hosting Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry on top 30 visit ahead of the 2024 NFL draft. McKinstry posted a photo from Lambeau Field on his official Instagram account on Monday.

Teams are allowed to host up to 30 prospects on visits ahead of the draft. Packers Wire is tracking all the reported visits here.

McKinstry, an All-American in 2023 and two-time All-SEC pick, produced 92 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, two interceptions and 25 pass breakups over 42 career games at Alabama. He played a significant role as a true freshman at Alabama and was a starter as both a sophomore and junior for Nick Saban.

Last season, McKinstry forced 10 incompletions, allowed only 19 receptions and didn’t have a penalty on 39 targets into his coverage, per PFF.

Most of McKinstry’s snaps came as a perimeter cornerback. The Packers will return Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Carrington Valentine and Corey Ballentine, but taking McKinstry could solidify the long-term depth at the premium position.

McKinstry also has punt return experience.

McKinstry (5-11, 199) didn’t test at the NFL Scouting Combine. At Alabama’s pro day, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds, hit 34.5″ in the vertical leap and covered 10-1 in the broad jump. His 10-yard split 1.44 seconds was elite. His Relative Athletic Score is 7.54 out of 10.0.

McKinstry is dealing with a fracture in his foot but expected to be ready by the start of training camps.

McKinstry is believed to be a late first-round or early second-round prospect. The Packers hold the No. 25 overall pick in the first round and the No. 41 overall pick in the second round. Several recent mock drafts had the Packers taking McKinstry in the first round.

Blue-chip 2026 quarterback recruit details visit with Gators this week

Billy Napier and his army of coaches continue to grind away on the college football recruiting trail in search of the best the nation has to offer from the prep ranks. Much of the focus of late has been on the 2025 class but Florida has not been …

Billy Napier and his army of coaches continue to grind away on the college football recruiting trail in search of the best the nation has to offer from the prep ranks. Much of the focus of late has been on the 2025 class but Florida has not been neglecting the following cycle either.

One of the top quarterbacks among the sophomore high school ranks is four-star passer Brady Hart from Cocoa (Florida) in the 2026 class. The 6-foot-4-180-pound signal-caller recently made a two-day visit to Gainesville and came away with a much better understanding of where he stands with the program early in his recruitment.

Hart spoke with Swamp247’s Blake Alderman after the visit and provided the following details.

“So I got in on Thursday and flew from South Bend right to the Gainesville airport at like 11:30 and went right straight to the facilities,” Hart told Swamp247. “I met with Coach (Ryan) O’Hara for a while, and just walked around and talked with him. He introduced himself to my dad, and then we got to tour the facilities.

“Talked with the nutritionist, strength and conditioning coach, and then went to quarterback meetings, team meetings, and then went to practice. I was on O’Hara and Coach (Billy) Napier’s hip the whole time at practice following them around. They would walk me through their plays and tell me the read before they called them. It was pretty sweet seeing the whole script.

“Got some time to talk with Napier after practice, and we got to really get to know him on a personal level. My dad enjoyed it a lot, and Coach Napier basically told us he wants us to be there and to be the quarterback in this class. That was surreal because it’s like a dream come true for me.”

“Friday was more on an in-depth meeting with Coach O’Hara. We talked about quarterback development and watched a lot of my film, and their film. It was sort of spliced together to show how I would fit into the system. I thought it was awesome, and a really cool experience. Seeing Coach O’Hara talk about all the different situations and plays. We run a similar system at my school that Florida does.”

“I thought it was really awesome to get to pick their brain about the game. They would challenge me too and my knowledge of the game. It was just awesome. I think it also spoke to their knowledge by seeing how guys like DJ [Lagway] and Graham [Mertz] have grown in their game from being there. It was cool to learn from them, and take little things from each of these visits to use in my game and push myself. You want to be valued, and get in-depth coaching, and they do that at Florida.”

“It was definitely a valued visit that I enjoyed a lot,” he said of the UF visit. “I am just going to keep going on these next couple of visits, and soak everything in. We are going to go back for another round of visits probably. Get like a top three, four, or five schools that we are really serious about, and then go back again. Then make the decision.”

“They definitely answered that question I had for them,” he said. “Really important to see that they are serious about me. Real cool visit. We are going to see these next several weeks. We are going to see if the effort put in. We are going to see how things build and where I stand on their board.”

Hart is ranked No. 110 overall and No. 9 at his position nationally according to the On3 industry ranking while Rivals has him rated at Nos. 49 and 4, respectively. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the Notre Dame Fighting Irish an overwhelming 95.3% chance of signing him, followed by Florida (1.4%) and the Miami Hurricanes (1.2%).

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Three-star RB leaves positive reviews for Florida after recent visit

Florida football made a great impression on this Lone Star State recruit during his recent visit.

The Florida Gators are moving up the list of top choices for a highly regarded three-star running back after his latest official visit ended with smiles on everyone’s faces.

Running back [autotag]Chad Gasper[/autotag] made a road trip to Gainesville to watch the football team play a scrimmage during its spring practice on Saturday, leaving a positive review in an interview with Gators Online.

Gasper said he crossed paths with both Florida head coach Billy Napier and running backs coach Jabbar Juluke — the latter of whom has been substantial in the recruiting process for the young prospect from Fulshear, Texas — during his recent visit.

Gasper’s connection with Juluke

The 2025 recruit told Gators Online that the player-coach relationship started after Gasper was offered a scholarship back in January.

“I loved (Juluke’s) coaching style,” Gasper said. “I liked how he kept it real; he kept it short and simple. He said he’s going to keep it real with all of his running backs and teach us life lessons. He said it’s not all about football. It’s about life too and he said he’s going to shape and develop me into a better man.”

Gasper noted that he’d like to set up another official visit sometime this year after enjoying his tour of the UF campus.

“I liked it. It kind of felt like I was home a little bit,” Gasper offered.

Recruiting summary

Gasper is ranked No. 461 overall and No. 42 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 550 and 47, respectively.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives Florida a 34.4% chance of landing the talented running back, followed by the Ohio State Buckeyes (30.1%), Michigan Wolverines (25.8%) and Nebraska Cornhuskers (2.0%).

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Coveted West Coast offensive lineman takes in Gators during visit

The Gators are one of this big-time offensive lineman’s top six schools.

Billy Napier and the Florida football program played host to a plethora of prep prospects this weekend for the team’s first team scrimmage on Saturday. Among them was a coveted offensive lineman from the other side of the country.

Three-star offensive tackle John Mills out of San Francisco (California) St. Ignatius College Preparatory in the 2025 cycle dropped in to see the action in Gainesville and came away with a much deeper understanding of what the Orange and Blue have to offer him.

The 6-foot-6-inch, 330-pound trench warrior made the most of his time in Hogtown, starting early and pounding the pavement until his departure. Much of that time was spent with the Gators’ coaching staff.

Mills meets Florida’s coaches face-to-face

“We got in a little bit for 8 a.m. on Saturday morning before their meetings got started, so I was able to have breakfast with Coach (Rob)Sale that morning,” Mills tells Swamp247. “We got to sit and talk for about an hour before we went up for their meetings before the scrimmage.

“I got to talk with Coach (John) Decoster for the first time too on Saturday,” he continued.” That was even my first meeting with Coach Sale on Saturday. I had been talking mainly with Coach (Darnell) Stapleton before, but I’ve had many calls with Coach Sale. It was good to get to meet him too and put a face to a name.”

He even got a moment with the big man during a hectic day for the program.

“I got to talk with Coach Napier for a while heading down to the indoor for their walkthrough. It was good to catch up with him, and meant a lot that he took time out of a busy day to talk with me.”

What Mills thought of the scrimmage

“The scrimmage has to be the closest thing to a real game,” he noted. “I liked seeing the stuff they did before. I liked seeing the 1v1’s. Those are my favorite thing to see as far as drills, because you can really see the technique.

“I thought their Bull Gator Drill was awesome too. It was one of the coolest things to see, and they had everyone surrounding it and real hype. It’s like an Oklahoma drill basically, but it was so cool seeing everyone so hyped.

“Then they had a two-hour scrimmage with big hits, some crazy catches, and some crazy throws. I’ve been to a spring practice at Cal, but it wasn’t like that. Florida scrimmage really set the tone and was super cool.”

Upcoming visit schedule

Mills is currently in the midst of his spring itinerary, having visited two of his top six teams so far — the Gators and the California Golden Bears. His other four preferred schools are the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Washington Huskies, Texas Longhorns and USC Trojans.

His official visit schedule kicks off with the Cornhuskers on the weekend of April 27. The Golden Bears are next up on March 23, followed by the Huskies (May 31), Gators (June 7), Longhorns (June 14), and Trojans (June 21).

Recruiting summary

Mills is ranked No. 720 overall and No. 51 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 684 and 51, respectively.

Texas leads the way in On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine with an 83.1% chance of signing the three-star recruit; Nebraska (4.7%), Florida (4.0%) and USC (2.5%) all follow behind, respectively.

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