Wisconsin football recruiting: a new offer goes out to a DL

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any major college athletics team, but following it closely as a fan can sometimes be difficult and can often be time consuming. We’ll try and condense all the recruiting news you can use into this bi-weekly (sometimes more) post. It’ll include updates on current commits, including stats from their high school games, as well as news on players the Badgers are still pursuing. Let’s get down to business!

New offer

• 2023 3-star DL Kendrick Gilbert (Indianapolis) out of Cathedral High School is the latest prospect to receive an offer from Wisconsin. Gilbert also holds offers from Notre Dame (who there is a Crystal Ball prediction for), Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Penn State, Purdue and others.

Gilbert stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs around 260 pounds and is rated as the No. 77 defensive lineman and No. 7 player in the state of Indiana by 247 Sports. Rivals also has him as a 3-star and rates him the No. 40 strongside defensive end.

The highlights where Gilbert is blocked by one player are few and far between in his Hudl tape from the first four games this year. You’ll notice that his head coach mentions this in the quote below. Gilbert already looks the part of a big time Big Ten player and he probably has room to add on another 10-15 pounds, which would make him more attractive to a 3-4 team like Wisconsin.

He has a high motor and doesn’t give up on plays, often making a tackle after a running back gets past him because he’s following along down the line. He definitely needs to get quicker to compete at the Power 5 level but all the other skills are coming along nicely for him.

“Kendrick he’s just a force out there,” Cathedral head coach Bill Peebles said. “He’s a kid it’s tough to single block him. He uses his hands so well. He has some pop off the ball and he shoots his hands really well and he’s an absolute load.

All-American Bowl Jerseys!

• A pair of in-state targets from the 2022 class received their All-American Bowl jerseys this past week. 4-star offensive linemen Carson Hinzman (Hammond) and Billy Schrauth (Fond du Lac) were both honored in virtual ceremonies by the high school all-star game. The Bowl, played annually in San Antonio, Texas, will be nationally televised, live on NBC, and will feature the nation’s top 100 high school football players.

Both players are still expected to pick Wisconsin as their college of choice but, per usual with recruiting, nothing is final until the ink is dry on the paper.