BlinkVlog

Wisconsin’s trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game was nixed with a 23-13 defeat to Minnesota in the regular-season finale on Saturday. The loss knocked the Badgers out of the West Division driver’s seat and ensured there will be a long wait until they play in their bowl game at a destination to be determined.

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Over the next month, however, Wisconsin’s recruiting efforts figure to occupy a decent chunk of the coaching staff’s time. The early signing period begins Wednesday, Dec. 15, and the Badgers find themselves with more work to be done to shape the 2022 recruiting class.

As it stands, Wisconsin has 13 committed prospects and ranks No. 42 nationally and ninth in the Big Ten, according to the 247Sports Composite. Offensive tackle Joe Brunner is the only four-star player committed to the Badgers. That comes on the heels of the Badgers signing 11 four- or five-star prospects over the previous two classes. The good news for Wisconsin is that three uncommitted four-star in-state players remain in play, although landing each of them won’t be easy given the other programs expressing interest.

Here’s a rundown of five top remaining 2022 targets for Wisconsin:

ATH Koen Entringer (three-star)

6-foot-2, 190 pounds (Walled Lake, Mich.)

Entringer is an intriguing late-blooming prospect who committed to Central Michigan in June and decommitted three weeks ago as Power 5 scholarship offers began to flood in for him. Over the past six weeks, he has earned offers from Syracuse, Temple, Tulane, Colorado, Maryland, Wisconsin, Iowa, Vanderbilt, Utah and Michigan. He took an official visit to watch Wisconsin’s final home game against Nebraska and visited in-state school Michigan for its victory against Ohio State on Saturday. Other visits are planned in the next two weeks to Syracuse and Iowa.

Entringer, who is originally from Arizona, moved to Michigan as a high school junior and transferred to Walled Lake High for his senior season — the same school recent Badgers linebacker commit Aidan Vaughan attends. Entringer caught 26 passes for 444 yards with six touchdowns on offense and recorded 88 tackles with one interception and two forced fumbles on defense. Wisconsin is recruiting him as a defensive back.

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The Badgers currently have two high school cornerbacks committed with A’Khoury Lyde (Wayne, N.J.) and Avyonne Jones (Southlake, Texas), as well as safety Austin Brown (Johnston City, Ill.). Former Michigan State cornerback Kalon Gervin is set to join the program as a transfer. Wisconsin will lose sixth-year senior cornerback Caesar Williams and could lose fifth-year senior Faion Hicks, though he has said he is considering using the extra year of eligibility he was granted during the pandemic. Safeties Collin Wilder and Scott Nelson also will be moving on.

RB Jaydn Ott (four-star)

6-foot, 196 pounds (Norco, Calif.)

Wisconsin’s running back group has been decimated by injuries and player departures, and the Badgers certainly could stand to add someone to the mix. Ott is the only uncommitted running back that Wisconsin has an offer out to, and he visited campus for a game in October. He has taken other official visits to Colorado and most recently to USC, which is perhaps the biggest challenger to Wisconsin.

Ott, who decommitted from Cal in September, earned an offer from USC six days later and one from Wisconsin 13 days later. He has visited USC on multiple occasions and has connections to the program. His uncle is the father of USC linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu and his trainer his former USC linebacker Jordan Campbell. Ott rushed for 1,140 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior.

Wisconsin currently has five scholarship running backs, as well as walk-ons Brady Schipper and Grover Bortolotti. But Isaac Guerendo and Chez Mellusi both are out for the season with left leg injuries. Running backs coach Gary Brown has said that Jackson Acker will be evaluated in the spring at both running back and fullback. Julius Davis has played 25 snaps all season and freshman Braelon Allen has battled injuries in both legs as he has taken on a bigger workload. Brown recently was asked whether he believed Wisconsin could land a running back this late in the recruiting cycle.

“We’re hoping,” Brown said. “We have a reputation here for running backs, and we’re trying to live up to that reputation.”

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OL Carson Hinzman (four-star)

6-foot-4, 280 pounds (Hammond, Wis.)

Wisconsin has a commitment from Brunner, who is the No. 1 player in the state. But given the Badgers’ in-state recruiting success, particularly with offensive linemen, the 2022 class likely would feel underwhelming unless Wisconsin can sign at least Hinzman (the No. 2 player in the state), as well as potentially Billy Schrauth (the No. 3 player in the state). Hinzman is the type of player Wisconsin generally does not lose, but Ohio State is threatening as the other finalist.

Hinzman said that, when he was 8 years old, his mom bought him a Badgers jersey that had his name stitched on the back. When recruiting visits were shut down during the pandemic, he participated in a Zoom call with former Wisconsin All-American offensive lineman Joe Thomas, as well as Brunner, Schrauth, offensive line coach Joe Rudolph and lead in-state recruiter Chris Haering. Thomas explained the importance of the in-state offensive line tradition at Wisconsin. Hinzman also praised Rudolph, who he said was evaluating him as either a guard or center.

However, Ohio State is a major factor as well. Hinzman took three trips to Columbus in a four-month stretch, using an official visit there in June and then returning to watch games against Oregon and Penn State. The Buckeyes have three offensive linemen committed in the 2022 class but are looking to add one or two more.

OL Billy Schrauth (four-star)

6-foot-5, 285 pounds (Fond du Lac, Wis.)

Since the inception of the 247Sports Top247 rankings in 2010, nine in-state offensive linemen have cracked the list. The only one to leave the state previously was Ben Bredeson, who committed to Michigan in its 2016 class. But Schrauth could join that small group as he chooses between Wisconsin and Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were a favorite earlier in the recruiting process until Schrauth took an official visit to Wisconsin in June — the first time he could see the campus during his recruitment due to the pandemic. Over the last few months, he has watched games at both schools and was in Chicago to see Notre Dame beat Wisconsin 41-13.

Wisconsin’s returning offensive line situation appears to be in good shape. Seven of the nine scholarship linemen in the last three recruiting classes were either four- or five-star high school prospects, including center Joe Tippmann and right guard Jack Nelson, both of whom already start for Wisconsin. The Badgers have commitments in the 2022 class from Brunner, as well as in-state offensive tackle Barrett Nelson, who is Jack’s younger brother.

DL Isaac Hamm (four-star)

6-foot-5, 260 pounds (Sun Prairie, Wis.)

Hamm has a lot of upside because of his size and athleticism. He played running back growing up, inside linebacker on junior varsity for Sun Prairie High as a freshman and defensive line for the first time as a sophomore on varsity. He is being recruited as a defensive end or a defensive tackle, depending on the college scheme. Hamm said he played at close to 200 pounds as a sophomore before bulking up and developing into a major FBS prospect. Hamm announced his final four two weeks ago and listed Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State and Notre Dame.

Hamm recorded 73 tackles with 18 tackles for loss, nine sacks, three blocked kicks and two forced fumbles this season and received the Tim Krumrie Award as the state’s most outstanding senior defensive lineman. Wisconsin is set to lose senior defensive end Matt Henningsen and could use more depth at the position. The only defensive lineman committed in the 2022 class is Curtis Neal (Cornelius, N.C.), and he likely fits best as a nose guard for the Badgers. Hamm has said he believes he would be physically ready enough to play at Wisconsin as a freshman. Whether he winds up there is still up the air.

(Top photo of Carson Hinzman: Saint Croix High School)

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