Tag: wisconsin football badgers

Podcast: Everything you need to know about the Big Ten’s return to football

Big Ten football is back!

On Thursday’s episode of Locked On Badgers, we talk everything you need to know about the Big Ten’s return to football. In addition, we cover Wisconsin’s most interesting position groups, and give some early predictions for how the season will play out.

You can listen to Locked On Badgers wherever you get your podcasts, with new episodes being uploaded three days per week.

Podcast: The return of Big Ten football

Locked On Badgers talks Big Ten football returning in the fall

On the first Locked On Badgers episode of the week, we talk the news that Big Ten football is coming back, and give an update on the COVID-19 situation on Wisconsin’s campus.

You can listen to Locked On Badgers wherever you get your podcasts, with new episodes being uploaded three days per week.

BREAKING: 2021 five-star OT Nolan Rucci commits to Wisconsin

The Badgers land 2021 five-star Nolan Rucci

After a vigorous recruiting battle that ultimately came down to Penn State, Clemson, and Wisconsin, the Badgers landed their top recruit in the class of 2021 on Tuesday evening.

Live on CBS Sports HQ, OT Nolan Rucci announced that he would be playing college football in Madison, Wisconsin. The Pennsylvania native joins his older brother, TE Hayden Rucci, as a Badger and gives UW their highest- ranked commit in the 2021 class.

As the No. 14 overall player in the 2021 class according to 247Sports composite rankings, Rucci is the top Badger commit since 2007. He becomes just the second five-star commit (OT Logan Brown, 2019) for Wisconsin football in the past decade.

Rucci joins the extremely talented OT duo of four-star prospects JP Benzschawel and Riley Mahlman in the Badger class of 2021.

 

Panthers LB Chris Orr takes hilarious shot at Northwestern’s lack of a home crowd

The former Badger had hilarious words for his former Wisconsin rival

As multiple Wisconsin Badgers get set to begin their NFL journeys, they are doing so in unprecedented times that could include playing in front of no fans for their entire rookie campaigns.

For former Wisconsin LB and current Carolina Panthers rookie Chris Orr, this is nothing new because he of course played at Ryan Field, the home of the Northwestern Wildcats, during his time in Madison.

Northwestern has the smallest capacity home stadium in the Big Ten, seating just 47,130 (compare that to Camp Randall’s 80,321 capacity). In the Wildcats defense, they did have only the fifth-worst total attendance numbers in the Big Ten last season.

Hopefully Orr find success as an UDFA this season with the Panthers, as Badger fans will certainly always root for a player who defines the saying “once a Badger, always a Badger.”

 

Podcast: 2022 recruiting update, early Big Ten basketball power rankings

A new episode of Locked On Badgers to finish the week

The third and final Locked On Badgers episode the week features a 2022 recruiting update after speaking with CB James Monds III, a way-too-early look at the stacked top of the Big Ten basketball conference, and trying to figure out which college football team to root for without Wisconsin playing.

You can find Locked On Badgers wherever you get your podcasts, with three new episodes coming out weekly.

WATCH: Wisconsin’s new recruiting hype video featuring Jim Leonhard’s dominant defense

The Badgers are letting recruits know about the dominance of Jim Leonhard’s defense in 2019

The Badgers are actively pursuing prospects in the class of 2022 as per NCAA rules they can now initiate contact with high school juniors. The offers have already been flying in a talented class, including an offer to 2022 CB James Monds III out of Fort Pierce, Florida. 

Monds III took to Twitter to share the love that Wisconsin had given him over the past couple of days. It’s no secret that Jim Leohnard’s defense was one of the best units in the country last season, and the Badgers are making sure recruits understand that. Wisconsin held opponents to less than 17 points per game, and allowed only 11 rushing touchdowns in 14 games. The Badgers are capitalizing on the defensive success with recruiting hype in the class of 2022:

Wisconsin football extends offer to a 2023 Georgia commit

The Badgers look to flip a top RB in 2023

The Badgers continue to be active on the recruiting trail, and they are looking to the future in the familiar recruiting hotbed of Florida. Wisconsin extended an offer to 2023 athlete Treyaun Webb, who is currently committed to Georgia. Webb has played RB through his first year in high school, and Wisconsin is recruiting the Trinity Christian Academy star as a RB.

Webb has a ton of major offers on the table, including Notre Dame, LSU, and Oklahoma. We will see if Wisconsin and RB Coach John Settle can flip the Florida native down the road. Currently, Webb is the first piece in the 2023 class for Kirby Smart and Georgia.

College Football News predicts Wisconsin football’s win total in 2020

A look at the Badgers in 2020 from CFN

[lawrence-newsletter]College Football News has been tackling season previews for major conference contenders as the season inches closer. Wisconsin football’s preview was put up a few weeks ago, and features keys to success and a prediction for how the Badgers season will play out: College Football News Wisconsin Preview 

Wisconsin, according to CFN, are projected to be a nine win team. The main reason is the fact that they have a tough schedule, with very little automatic wins included. It is an interesting schedule for the Badgers, and something we will dive deeper into as the season approaches here at BadgersWire. Although the Badgers do not have a game on the schedule that should be a surefire loss, they also do not have many definite wins. Even early season home contests against Indiana and App. State are no walks in the park.

It will be intriguing to see how the Badgers season does play out, but if the CFN prediction of a three-loss regular season holds true, 2020 could be an up and down year in Madison.

 

A Wisconsin LB named a projected breakout player in 2020 by Athlon Sports

A Badger who is expected to take a step forward in 2020

[lawrence-newsletter]Athlon sports is taking an early look at which players should have breakout seasons around the college football landscape. Wisconsin LB Noah Burks was among them as a player who is certainly taking a step forward in terms of his role with the Badgers in 2020.

As Wisconsin loses two starting linebackers in Zack Baun and Chris Orr, Burks is stepping into a leading role at the position. Last season, the Badger ‘backer played in 14 games while recording seven tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. He also took an interception to the house against Northwestern to help solidify Wisconsin’s win over the Wildcats.

Here is what Athlon Sports had to say about the rising senior ‘backer.

“The Badgers are losing two key linebackers – Zack Baun and Chris Orr – but this position is still in good shape for 2020. Burks’ play in 2019 is a big reason why, as the Indiana native posted his best season in a Wisconsin uniform. In 14 appearances, Burks collected 36 tackles (seven for a loss), two sacks, one interception and three pass breakups. Burks seems to be scratching the surface of his potential and could be primed for an All-Big Ten-caliber senior year.”

 

Instant Twitter reaction: 2021 DE T.J. Bollers commits to Wisconsin

The Badgers land the four-star DE

Wisconsin just landed their top-ranked defensive recruit in the class of 2021 in Iowa DE T.J. Bollers. Here is what other class of 2021 Badger commits and more members of the Wisconsin family had to say on Twitter after the announcement.

Even before the news broke, 2021 Badger commit Darryl Peterson was ready to hear good news:

Bollers dropped his commitment video just after 12:15 p.m. today:

Peterson chimed in just after the video was released:

2021 Wisconsin QB commit Deacon Pe’a Hill showed his excitement:

National recruiting writers for 247Sports and ESPN are also taking notice of the 2021 class that is building in Madison:

Make sure to also check out an article written by Bollers in the Des Moines Register about why he chose Wisconsin: