All Badgers

Wisconsin Badgers spring recruiting update: 2023 safeties

A breakdown of where the Wisconsin Badgers stand at the safety position in the 2023 recruiting class this spring.

Matt Belz

In this story:

With spring football in full swing and the coaching staff welcoming a plethora of 2023 and 2024 recruits to campus, the Wisconsin Badgers and their recruiting efforts are ramping up ahead of summer official visits.

Contents

  1. Damon Walters
  2. Kahlil Ali
  3. Ronan Hanafin

With that in mind, over the next two weeks, we will look at three players to watch at each position group in the 2023 recruiting class as the Badgers look to close on some of their top targets under the direction of recruiting coordinator Mickey Turner.

New offers are bound to come out, and recruitments seem to change at the drop of a hat, but let's look at three safeties to know for the 2023 class at this time. 

Previous 2023 position updates:

Damon Walters

Wisconsin has a good relationship with Bolingbrook High School after landing Izayah Green-May, and the Badgers were a top candidate for Justin Walters prior to his commitment to Notre Dame back in the 2021 cycle. 

In 2023, the Badgers are now involved with Justin's younger brother Damon, who is one of the top safeties in the Midwest. 

Walters is rated as a three-star prospect and already has Power-5 scholarship offers from Boston College, Duke, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, Syracuse, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Wisconsin. 

Walters is a fast and instinctual player on film, and he would be a tremendous fit on Jim Leonhard's defense. If Notre Dame gets involved, one would have to assume they would become the favorite, but until then, the Badgers are a contender. We will see if Walters schedules a visit in the coming months or lines up an official visit to Madison.

Kahlil Ali

Kahlil Ali is another highly ranked prospect on Wisconsin's recruiting board. 

While he has yet to physically visit Madison, Ali has been in contact with the Badgers for some time and was offered back in late January. 

Ali currently has additional scholarship offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Florida State, Illinois, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia, and West Virginia. 

His offer list will likely continue to go up following a big junior season on both sides of the ball for Pennsauken High School. Defensively, he hauled in three interceptions, while he also added just shy of 500 total yards of offense and seven touchdowns. 

As things stand, Wisconsin is probably outside of the top schools on Ali's list, but the key for the Badgers will be getting the talented safety on campus. This summer will be crucial for Jim Leonhard and Hank Poteat's pursuit of the four-star prospect from New Jersey. 

You can check out his junior highlights here. 

Ronan Hanafin

Ronan Hanafin's recruitment has blown up here recently with offers from Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, and USC, but he is another top-level safety recruit for the Badgers.

The highly-coveted athlete from Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Massachusetts made the trip to Madison back in early March for a visit, and now the hope for Wisconsin is that Hanafin will return for an official visit this summer.

Rated as a three-star prospect right now, Hanafin is one of the fastest-rising prospects in the country and holds over 20 scholarship offers, Wisconsin included.

At 6-foot-3 and a little over 200 pounds, he could project to several different positions on Wisconsin's defense, but for now, he is a safety recruit for the Badgers.

Hanafin will be a tough pull for Wisconsin based on his offer list, but based on his junior highlights, he could be an immediate difference-maker if he opts to commit. 

Related links:

You can keep up to date on everything at All Badgers by liking + following our Facebook page and Twitter account:

Facebook - @AllBadgersSI
Twitter - @SI_AllBadgers

You can also follow Site Publisher Matt Belz at @savedbythebelz on Twitter.

Published
Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

Home/Recruiting