Inked for the Wisconsin Badgers: Three-star Tight End Tucker Ashcraft

With the early signing period for high school football players beginning on Dec. 21, BadgerBlitz.com dives into a closer look at the commits who have signed with the Wisconsin Badgers.

Let's take a look at Seattle O’Dea tight end Tucker Ashcraft, who officially signed with Wisconsin on Wednesday after committing to the program in December 2022.

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The 11th commitment in Wisconsin’s 2023 class, Ashcraft is a three-star prospect by Rivals.com.

Ashcraft committed to the Badgers over seven scholarship offers, including Air Force, Michigan State, and Washington State. He was previously committed to Colorado.

Holding a trio of scholarships from smaller schools, Ashcraft got his big offer in late March when he was offered by Colorado on an unofficial visit to the school. After a month of not receiving another Power Five offer, Ashcraft committed to the Buffaloes and remained so after Colorado made a coaching change on October 2 (the same day UW fired Paul Chryst), even turning down an offer from Michigan State.

However, the bold hire of Deion Sanders and his staff not honoring scholarships and encouraging current players to enter the transfer portal were warning signs to Ashcraft.

After Ashcraft decommitted on December 5, Wisconsin’s new staff quickly entered the picture and got him on campus for an official visit. Getting a chance to spend considerable time with head coach Luke Fickell, offensive coordinator Phil Longo, and offensive coach Gino Guidugli, Ashcraft was offered on the visit and confident that Wisconsin was the right choice.

“The culture, coaches, and the academics were the biggest thing for me. Wisconsin meets all my criteria, and I love the stability of Coach (Luke) Fickell. He was at Ohio State for over 17 years and then Cincinnati for six. That just kind of shows that he wants to stick around and he wants to develop the program.

“At first the distance was something that I had to think about. But then the place was just so great that it didn't matter as much as it used to for me. Wisconsin was just the best option for me.”

"He's really, really good right now, but there is also a huge upside with him. He can carry 40 more pounds, he's very athletic, has a great catch range and he can also block. You know, we throw the ball here maybe 10 times a game, so he's an in-line tight end who is tremendous for us and I think he will be at the next level as well. He knows how to block and he loves doing it because he's so physical. Every game that we went into we knew that we could win every play by running behind him.”

- High School coach Monte Kohler

The future of the tight end position is shrouded in mystery with the new staff coming in, so how Ashcraft truly fits is an outsider’s guess. One thing is certain is that he can block and he’s athletic. The latter comes from his background of being a wide receiver and basketball player, being able to run and catch well and explode off the line of scrimmage. The former comes from the high school offense being heavy on running the ball, giving him ample opportunity to neutralize defenders to open running lanes.

While he’ll probably need some time to bulk up if he plays an in-line tight end, Ashcraft appears like he can deliver more to the Badgers than someone who just stays home and blocks.

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