Four-star Florida CB Rukeem Stroud flips from Wisconsin to UCF
Wisconsin commit Rukeem Stroud picked up an offer from UCF on Saturday.
By Monday afternoon, the four-star prospect from Florida prospect flipped his pledge to the Knights. The Badgers are now down to 20 commitments in the 2025 recruiting class.
Manage privacy settings
After an official visit to Madison during the weekend of May 31, Stroud chose UW over South Florida, the other school he planned to visit officially in June. But during the course of his recruitment, the standout from Tampa Bay (FL) Tech also listed offers from Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina State, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Texas A&M, among others.
Stroud, 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, clocked a 10.75-second 100-meter dash time in between stints with the Miami Raw 7v7 club. Position coach Paul Haynes served as the lead contact in his recruitment.
“It’s beautiful out there. I mean, it’s somewhere you can have fun. It’s real beautiful out there," Stroud told BadgerBlitz.com in a previous interview. “When I first got up there, we did a campus tour. That Friday, I met all the coaches. Coach (Luke) Fickell, the defensive coordinator, Coach Haynes. Met with Pat (Lambert). It was a really fun experience.
“With Coach Haynes, we were just really going over the basic defense they run, and what they’re looking for on the perimeter; they’re looking for speed, which they think I would be a perfect fit for."
Without Stroud, UW now has commitments from projected corners Remington Moss and Jahmare Washington in this cycle. The staff is also in pursuit of SMU commit Zadian Gentry, as well as in-state standout Tre Poteat, both of whom were also on campus this month.
The timing of Stroud's decommitment - after official visits and during the start of the dead period - is difficult for UW. The staff canceled officials earlier this month with 2025 cornerbacks JoJo Scott, Charles Bell, Mason Alexander, Corey Costner, Naiim Parrish and Jayden Shipps after they landed both Stroud and Washington.
Manage privacy settings
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @seamus_rohrer, @DonnieSlusher_
*Like us on Facebook