With the early signing period for high school football players beginning on December 18, Badgers Insider takes a closer look at the recruits that signed with the Wisconsin football program.
In this edition, we examine Stoughton (WI) High School offensive lineman Jack Nelson.
Note: All notes or stats provided by uwbadgers.com
Nelson chose Wisconsin over other Offers from: Michigan
Nelson’s High School Accolades: Four–star recruit by 247 Sports, ESPN and Rivals…No. 2–ranked prospect in Wisconsin…Joe Thomas Award winner as state’s top senior offensive lineman…First–team all–state by Wisconsin Football Coaches Association as a senior in 2019…Earned invitation to 2020 All–American Bowl
Nelson’s Impact as a Badger: It didn’t take Nelson long to select Wisconsin as he received his offer from the Badgers in October of 2017 and he made his commitment to Wisconsin later that month on Halloween.
Nelson’s dad, Todd played for Wisconsin from 1984-to-1988 as Nelson grew up a Badger fan. With Nelson shutting his recruitment down so early it didn’t allow for him to have his recruitment play out as Nelson received his only other offer from Michigan in February of 2018. If Nelson hadn’t shut his recruitment down so early he would have received double-digit offers as he’ll be one of two Badgers to represent Wisconsin at the prestigious All-American Bowl in San Antonio.
Nelson who’s listed as a 6’7″ 260 pounds offensive tackle plans to enroll early at Wisconsin. Nelson projects to be your prototypical Wisconsin offensive tackle as he has the right frame to consistently win his battle in the trenches. Before he’s able to do that at the college level he’ll need to continue to gain strength and work on his technique.
Nelson thanks to his size was able to dominate his opponents at the high school level but he won’t be able to get away with that at the college level. With the strength, Nelson will gain once he gets on campus and him being coached up by offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Joe Rudolph will allow for him to be able to hold his own at the point of attack and be able to consistently win in the trenches.
Although Nelson has a bright future at Wisconsin he likely won’t see the field as a true freshman. Starting left tackle Cole Van Lanen could leave early for the NFL and even if he does Nelson would still have to beat out redshirt junior Tyler Beach or redshirt freshman Logan Brown to possibly earn a spot in the rotation. Nelson will have his chance of earning a spot on Wisconsin’s offensive line following next season as he’s capable of being a multi-year starter.