Over the next two weeks, BadgerBlitz.com will be bringing you snapshots for each recruited position, covering the targets who are legitimate prospects on Wisconsin's board in the 2019 class. We will discuss the candidates who are most interested in the Badgers, as well as those who are considered long shots to commit to UW.
As always, this is just a snapshot in time and things remain fluid. Additional offered targets will appear over the next few months and some recruits will inevitably choose other colleges.
Today, we continue with a look at the tight ends.
Quick Position Breakdown
Tight end was a little thin this past fall, but that will change in 2018 with the additions of Cormac Sampson, Jaylan Franklin and preferred walk-on Jack Eschenbach, who is an intriguing athlete at 6-foot-7 and 205 pounds. Those three will join a group that has to replace Troy Fumagalli next season, but redshirt freshman Jake Ferguson had a great spring camp and should be a reliable receiving threat for quarterback Alex Hornibrook. He'll compliment veterans Zander Neuville and Kyle Penniston in 2018, with Luke Benzschawel also in the mix.
Class of 2019 tight end needs: 1/2 | Class of 2019 tight end commits: 1
In February, Wisconsin secured a commitment from Hayden Rucci, arguably its top tight end target in the 2019 class.
"With Wisconsin, when Hayden's family visited this summer and then made it back for a game in the fall, they had nothing but positive things to say about the program and the school," Rucci's head coach, Bob Locker, told BadgerBlitz.com. "They loved the campus, loved the atmosphere and thought it was a tremendous football program, top to bottom."
Rucci, a four-star prospect and the No. 6 tight end in the country, chose UW over offers from Duke, Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota, Virginia and Pittsburgh, among others. A Penn State legacy - father, Todd Rucci, played right tackle in Happy Valley from 1989 to 1992 - Hayden Rucci never picked up a scholarship from the Nittany Lions.
"After taking the visits and getting the offers, I think Hayden was comfortable enough where he knew Wisconsin was the best place for him," Locker said. "He was able to tell the other coaches recruiting him that he found his home for the next four or five years, and that was Wisconsin.
"Quite honestly, Penn State expressed a lot of interest in Hayden but they had some other tight ends coming in from the previous (2018) class (Pat Freiermuth and Zack Kuntz) and I never really asked if it was a numbers thing. I don't know if they thought they had more time with Hayden to go through the process but, honestly, when we talked about narrowing the number down, Penn State didn't really enter the conversation too much. There were other schools ahead of them."
