With high school football set to begin in Wisconsin in less than one month, BadgerBlitz.com ranked the top 50 in-state prospects from a very strong 2020 class.

Rankings are based on film, in-person evaluations and feedback from coaches and players. Five athletes will be released each day until the conclusion of the series.

RELATED: 46 to 50 | 41 to 45 | 36 to 40 | 31-35 | 26-30 | 21-25 |

Offers from: Central Michigan, Concordia-St. Paul, Eastern Kentucky, Illinois State, Minnesota State, North Dakota, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Southwest Minnesota State, Western Illinois, Winona State and Iowa (preferred walk-on)

Related: 2020 DB Nate Valcarcel back at Wisconsin for spring practice | Nate Valcarcel talks Iowa interest |

The word: Iowa and Wisconsin, among others schools, are showing strong interest in Nate Valcarcel heading into his senior season. The standout from Whitnall High School rushed for over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns on offense and racked up 61 total tackles and three interceptions on defense as a junior. Valcarcel performed very well at safety during Wisconsin's camp in June.

"The main schools that I have major interest in are South Dakota State, Central Michigan and also Iowa and Wisconsin," Valcarcel told BadgerBlitz.com. "I’d like to take a visit to Central Michigan soon and also go back up to Iowa and Wisconsin for a game visit this season. I will commit when I feel 110 percent comfortable and that could be soon or even after the season."

Committed to: Western Michigan

Related: Recruiting starting to heat up for 2020 OL Adam Vandervest | 2020 OL Adam Vandervest makes short trip to campus for spring practice |

The word: Adam Vandervest, a two-star prospect from Verona High School, committed to Western Michigan this summer over offers from Bryant, Central Michigan, Columbia, Eastern Kentucky, Illinois State, Minnesota State-Mankato, New Mexico State, South Dakota and Toledo. A few schools in the Big Ten were also showing strong interest at the time of his commitment.

"I hopped on the Western Michigan offer right away because I knew that the coaching style there is a great fit for me, and the recruiting class for 2020 is going to be something special," Vandervest told BadgerBlitz.com. "Also, one of my coaches, Coach Cramer, played at Western Michigan back in the 1980s, so there was always an interest in playing there. Coach Cramer coaches like the coaches at WMU, so it’ll be a nice transition. I did have some heavy Power 5 interest and I still do, but I have no intentions to decommit from WMU. I’m looking forward to my senior season and my time at WMU."

Committed to: North Dakota State

Related: Badgers will continue to monitor Cole Wisniewski after camp performance

The word: One of the better athletes in the 2020 in-state class, Cole Wisniewski was being recruited as a quarterback, safety and outside linebacker by the schools that offered scholarships. In the end, North Dakota State came out on top for Wisniewski, who passed 1,097 yards and 12 touchdowns, rushed for 845 yards and 18 touchdowns and racked up 59 tackles and two interceptions on defense in 2018.

"In overview of my decision to commit to North Dakota State there were a multitude of reasons why I committed there," Wisniewski told BadgerBlitz.com. "The things that stuck out to me initially were the standards the players are held accountable for, the tradition the program has carried over the last decades, and then the fanbase stuck out tremendously as well.

"On my junior day visits in March and April, one of the major things I looked for is how will each school develop me to be the best football player and, on top of that, person. NDSU stuck out. Above that after watching a couple of North Dakota State games I think I could play that outside linebacker position and have a blast at the position, which put NDSU ahead of the couple others schools I was considering."

Committed to: Northern Illinois

The word: A hard-hitting linebacker from Milwaukee Vincent, Devonte Smith made an early commitment to Northern Illinois in February. As a junior, the defensive player of the year in the Milwaukee City Conference racked up an eye-popping 183 tackles, according to wissports.net.

"When I went to NIU it wasn’t really a big school," Smith told BadgerBlitz.com. "The town around it didn’t have too much going on and I like that. Not only that, but when I went there I felt at home and the players welcomed me and made me feel like it was the right fit for me."

Committed to: North Dakota State

Related: 2020 TE Joe Stoffel watching his recruitment heat up

The word: Joe Stoffel, who had 23 receptions for 428 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior, committed to North Dakota State this summer. The pass-catching tight end also had scholarships from Akron, Appalachian State, Ball State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Florida International, North Dakota, Northern Illinois, Ohio, South Dakota, Toledo and Western Michigan.

"NDSU, in my opinion, was the best fit for me and my family because of everything they had to offer," Stoffel told BadgerBlitz.com. "Like I’ve said to a lot of people: who cares if they are an FCS school? I still believe that they could compete playing in the MAC, where I had most of my offers. It was close and the town of Fargo had a small-town feel and I love that."