Recruitment is the lifeblood of any great collegiate track team, but keeping track of it closely as a fan can sometimes be difficult and oftentimes time-consuming. We’ll try to summarize all the recruiting news you can use in this bi-weekly (sometimes more) post. It includes updates on recent commitments, including stats from their high school games, as well as player news badgers still follow. Let’s get down to business!
The 2023 Quarterback Carousel continues to spin
- While the Badgers missed most of their quarterback goals in the 2023 class, a recent offer to 3-star Lincoln Kienholz (Pierre, SD) brought Wisconsin back into the mix for a talented signal caller. On Wednesday, Kienholz narrowed his list down to four schools he would consider, and the Badgers made the cut along with North Dakota State, Washington and Wyoming.
I would like to thank you for this opportunity and all the colleges that recruited me throughout this process. Since that’s sad, Top 4!!! pic.twitter.com/NWPYcjknI1
— Lincoln Kienholz (@LincolnKienholz) May 25, 2022
Jon McNamara over at BadgerBlitz has a good interview with Kienholz ($) and he notes that the All-State QB will be visiting all four schools coming in June. The Badgers will be hosting Kienholz the weekend of June 3rd (which will be a HUGE recruiting weekend for UW).
As a junior last year, Kienholz threw for 3,359 yards (181 of 329, 55%) and 37 touchdowns (just six interceptions) while also rushing for 1,175 yards and 12 touchdowns.
New offer
- 2024 CB/S Zavier “Zay” Mincey (Daytona Beach, Fla.) of Mainland High School received an offer from Wisconsin earlier this week. According to 247 Sports, he has offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Coastal Carolina, Iowa State, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Purdue, Texas A&M, UCF and others.
At 6ft 3 and weighing about 185 pounds, Mincey is already a good size for the defensive backfield. It’s unclear where the Badgers are recruiting him to play, but there’s certainly value in having a versatile player who can potentially play anywhere in the back end of defense.
Mincey doesn’t have consensus ratings yet, but Rivals lists him as a 3-star prospect while On3 Sports has him as a 4-star player and #199 player and #18 safety in the 2024 class. Here’s Mincey’s Hudl band where he mainly plays cornerback for his high school.
As a long, slender defender, he is able to cover smaller wideouts. He also uses his size to punch guys in the ass. I have a great fondness for corners who like to stick their noses in the mix and play around the line of scrimmage, and Mincey has some of those qualities.
The Badgers have a long history of picking defenders out of Florida, usually South Florida, but it’s nice to branch out within the state and make them B1G-caliber players. I’d love to see Wisconsin stay in that recruit and try to get Mincey on campus.
