Luke Fickell and his staff have landed three four-star cornerbacks - Amare Snowden, Omillio Agard and Xavier Lucas - since taking over at Wisconsin in 2023.
Sunday morning, the Badgers added another athlete to the mix when Rukeem Stroud committed to UW during his official visit.
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.
"I want to catch a vibe from the coaches," Stroud said when asked about Wisconsin in a previous interview. "And I want to be impressed with seeing more of the campus. Their campus is beautiful.
"I like the way they let their corners play man-to-man 75% of the game. It seems like a school that can develop me."
In Stroud, 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, the Badgers are adding more speed to the cornerback position. This spring, he 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 Stroud's recruitment. Prior to this weekend, he visited Madison unofficially in early May.
“It’s beautiful out there. I mean, it’s somewhere you can have fun. It’s real beautiful out there," Stroud said. “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."
Commit No. 12 for the Badgers in the 2025 class, Stroud joins Remington Moss as projected corners. The staff is also in hot pursuit of SMU commit Zadian Gentry, as well as in-state standout Tre Poteat, both of whom were also on campus this weekend.
On June 7, JoJo Scott, who brings intriguing size to the table at 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, is set to visit. Kansas, Kansas State and Oregon State are also scheduled to receive officials from the Florida standout.
On June 14, Charles Bell, Mason Alexander, Corey Costner, Naiim Parrish and Jayden Shipps are set to be in Madison. Should the entire group make it to campus - which is unlikely - they will likely be fighting over one or two available spots.
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