Badgers football: Wisconsin set to take advantage of 1st early signing period

[Mark87]

College football’s first try at an early signing period begins this week, when prospects in the 2018 class can sign a Letter of Intent to the school of their choice between Wednesday and Friday rather than waiting until February to do so.
As University of Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said earlier this month and in previous interviews, no one quite knows what to expect, exactly how the new procedure will affect the next six weeks or what unintended consequences could arise down the road.
For the Badgers, however, signing commitments early seems to make plenty of sense.

"I think we’re all going through this for the first time,” Chryst said. "I think it’s always important when you go out and you recruit a class, and you feel certainly good and excited about the group that you have joining — when they sign, it’s officially done."
That early finality appears as if it will greatly benefit the Badgers this week. All 19 known commitments in UW’s 2018 class are expected to sign this week, according to either the prospect himself or those close to him.
They are safety Reggie Pearson, outside linebacker Mason Platter, defensive ends Boyd Dietzen and Isaiah Mullens, inside linebackers C.J. Goetz and Jack Sanborn, offensive lineman Michael Furtney, quarterback Chase Wolf, athletes Cormac Sampson, Aron Cruickshank and Jaylan Franklin, cornerbacks Donte Burton, Alexander Smith and Travian Blaylock, wide receivers Taj Mustapha, AJ Abbott and Isaac Guerendo, defensive tackle Bryson Williams and running back Nakia Watson.Pearson, Cruickshank, Burton, Mustapha and Williams are excepted to enroll early in January. Even for the other 14 that don’t, their decision to sign early allows UW the clarity it needs to either finish out the 2018 class in the coming weeks or gain a massive head start on the 2019 class, which the Badgers have already filled with five commitments.
For Chryst, the early signing period has allowed his coaching staff and his commitments to both stay true to their word, and doing so could continue to benefit a program like UW that typically gets much of its recruiting business done early.
“For the schools that offered, that means the scholarship is real that day, and then the commitment is real,” Chryst said. "You want to stay true to that."
UW likely won’t add many, if any, more prospects to its 2018 class between now and National Signing Day on Feb. 7.
The Badgers did, however, recently offer Butler Community College linebacker Will Honas, per reports. Honas ranks as the top junior college inside linebacker in the country, according to 247sports’ composite rankings.

The late offer could be related to the potential departure of current UW inside linebacker T.J. Edwards, although the junior said Tuesday that he has not made a decision yet on whether he will forgo his final year with the Badgers to enter the NFL Draft.
“I’m still waiting to get information back and still weighing all my options,” Edwards said. "I’ve still got to talk to my family and everything about it. I’m just having fun being out here with the guys. There’s still time left to make that final decision, so when the time comes, I’ll make that decision. ... It would definitely have to be some good feedback (to leave)."
Even with just 19 commitments, the Badgers’ class currently ranks 31st by Rivals and 34th by 247sports, and practically the entire class may become official this week.
Some coaches have publicly opposed the early signing period. Staffs have less time in December to finalize a class during bowl or playoff preparations, and coaching changes can disrupt recruiting just as kids are about to sign.
UW benefits from having a group of prospects who were hard commitments for a long period of time and are now ready to make their long-standing decision final. Of the Badgers’ 19 commitments, 18 pledged to UW by early July.
"I think it could be beneficial for anybody,” UW offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Joe Rudolph said. "I think if you’re really doing a good job of being honest and recruiting good football players and good kids, and I think on the flip side, if the guys that you’re recruiting are really honest and working with you, then I think it’s pretty simple. I think it makes sense.
"If you’re not, then it could be more interesting, and then I could see wanting more time to figure things out. In that respect, I think it’s a good thing for us."

Badgers football: Wisconsin set to take advantage of 1st early signing period

 

[TW]

I like hearing that they aren't seeing major defections. It shows they have gone in the right direction.

 

[57packer]

I was especially impressed that they were able to keep the kid from Nabraska, Williams. I guess Frost put on a full court press once he was named the coach but the kid held true to his commitment.

Looks like a solid group with some good size/speed in the secondary. The RB from Texas also looks like he'll mesh nicely in the Badgers scheme - an inside-out runner with power. Would like to have seen another OL but they have a fair amount of young depth there, so not as critical a need this year.

 

[TW]

The RB from Texas also looks like he'll mesh nicely in the Badgers scheme - an inside-out runner with power.

I've watched every game Watson played this year on TV. Their HS stadiums are equipped with a miniaturized NFL style system of cameras, and production area. They even have formatting for advertising, and the darned officials actually call "media time outs" even though they don't say they do. It's just an "officials time-out."

The kid is a straight forward runner with a bit of speed, who runs well off cuts, and can overpower guys that are on their way to DI at linebacker. Very strong, and powerful. Just not an outside running flea, but on slants off tackle, he's a load for anyone on defense to tackle. He has to run lower, behind his pads, which he doesn't do now, because he overpowers defenders. At Wisconsin, that's not going to happen.

All in all, a good kid to have on the team. He's going to be a tough 3rd down RB from day one.