All Badgers

Wisconsin Badgers weekly recruiting rundown (November 11)

An overview of the news from this week in football and men's basketball recruiting for the Wisconsin Badgers.

Matt Belz

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The past week has provided plenty of news and notable events when it comes to Wisconsin football and men's basketball recruiting. 

With new offers going out, multiple commitments, and National Signing Day for the men's basketball program, there is plenty to cover. 

In an attempt to provide an overview of everything that happened during the past seven days, here is the weekly recruiting rundown.

Contents

  1. Basketball: Four players sign their National Letter of Intent on Tuesday
  2. Football: Wisconsin offers 2024 LB Kari Jackson
  3. Football: Wisconsin extends a preferred walk-on spot to Johnny Schmitt
  4. Football: Wisconsin lands a pair of commitments 

Basketball: Four players sign their National Letter of Intent on Tuesday

Taking part in National Signing Day, four future members of the Wisconsin men's basketball program officially signed their letters of intent on Wednesday.

The Badgers signed three scholarship players from their 2023 recruiting class and added one walk-on as well.

The three scholarship players to sign were forward Gus Yalden, combo guard John Blackwell, and forward Nolan Winter. You can read what Greg Gard had to say about his three-member scholarship class here from earlier in the week.

Though not officially shared by UW yet, walk-on guard Jack Janicki signed his NLI on Wednesday at White Bear Lake High School.

The unranked shooting guard committed to Wisconsin in August over full-ride scholarships from Colorado State, Harvard, Loyola (Chicago), Rice, Santa Clara, Vermont, and Wake Forest. 

Janicki is a talented walk-on addition for the Badgers and is a key piece to Wisconsin's No. 33 ranked signing class. The 6-foot-4 guard is known for his abilities as a shooter and is the type of walk-on that could wind up earning a scholarship down the road from Greg Gard. 

Football: Wisconsin offers 2024 LB Kari Jackson

After visiting for the Maryland game, 2024 linebacker Kari Jackson earned an offer from the Wisconsin football team on Sunday. 

Rated as a four-star prospect by the 247 Sports Composite, Jackson holds additional offers from Cincinnati, Duke, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Tennessee, and West Virginia. 

Considered a top-300 prospect for his grade, Jackson hails from West Bloomfield High School in Michigan, a school that routinely sends multiple players to the FBS level each season. 

You can watch some junior highlights of the 6-foot-1 linebacker in action here. 

Football: Wisconsin extends a preferred walk-on spot to Johnny Schmitt

Senior safety Johnny Schmitt earned a walk-on opportunity from Wisconsin on Tuesday. The 6-foot-1 athlete from Saint Rita High School in Chicago was most recently in Madison for the Purdue game. 

Earning the walk-on offer from interim head coach Jim Leonhard, Schmitt also holds scholarships to Dayton and Valparaiso, as well as walk-on spots with Illinois and Kansas. 

The Badgers have prioritized the Chicagoland area in the 2023 cycle, and it will be interesting to see if they can land Schmitt as a walk-on in the class. Schmitt's teammate, linebacker Joe Kingsbury, is also receiving interest from Wisconsin and could earn a late offer from the coaching staff based on his senior film. 

Football: Wisconsin lands a pair of commitments 

The Wisconsin Badgers added two new members to their 2023 recruiting class this week. The first came on Monday, with three-star quarterback Cole LaCrue committing on scholarship to join the Badgers over other offers from Central Michigan, Colorado, and Tulane. 

The lone quarterback commit for Wisconsin in the 2023 cycle, LaCrue is a significant addition given the lack of scholarship numbers at the position going forward. You can read our full breakdown of LaCrue's commitment here, but he will join the team early as a spring enrollee. 

Also joining the 2023 class this week is outside linebacker Evan Van Dyn Hoven of Menasha High School (Wis.). Committing to UW as a walk-on, Van Dyn Hoven grew up a big Wisconsin fan and now has the chance to live out his dream. The unranked senior earned a walk-on opportunity from outside linebackers coach Bobby April after a strong camp performance in the summer. You can read All Badgers' commitment breakdown here. 

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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.

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