BadgerBlitz.com dives into its message board to take questions from subscribers in this week's mailbag.
What are your thoughts on the Wisconsin “wall” if two to three of the top five go elsewhere? Seems the wall had been there for 20ish years, as only occasionally does Wisconsin lose a top in-state player like Ben Bredeson.
Looking at the 2022 class, it's a little premature to answer this question with Carson Hinzman, Isaac Hamm and Billy Schrauth still uncommitted. Should the Badgers hit on all three in this cycle, there are no concerns about the recruiting "wall" surrounding state moving forward. Jerry Cross was a kid who was looking to forge his own path, and he found that as part of Penn State's class. He seems like a boom or bust prospect and I'm interested to see how he does in Happy Valley.
Looking at the last 19 cycles (2002 to 2021), the Badgers have offered 146 in-state prospects and connected on 128 of them, roughly 88 percent. That number creeps closer to the 90s when you look at each individual recruitment and the Badgers not being in a position to take a commitment in certain situations. That's a pretty strong body of work, especially with a good chunk of the "damage" taking place during Gary Andersen's short tenure.
Regardless of how Wisconsin finishes with Hinzman, Hamm and Schrauth - and I think the Badgers get all three - the program has done an excellent job at both keeping the top talent inside the state and, maybe more importantly, offering the correct prospects. And if Wisconsin ends up losing just Cross in this cycle, that will be a pretty impressive feat with some of the top programs in the country having gone after Schrauth, Hinzman and Joe Brunner.
