Positional recruit snapshot: Offensive linemen
We have reached the midpoint of summer and Wisconsin's 2017 recruiting class is nearly completed. The Badgers have 10 current scholarship commitments to date - plus two more preferred walk-ons - and have set up their board to land a possible top 25 national class.
Over the next two weeks BadgerBlitz.com will be bringing you snapshots for each recruited position covering the targets who are left as legitimate prospects on Wisconsin's board. We will discuss the remaining 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. These positional snapshots are meant to give the lay of the land as fall camp for the 2016 season is quickly approaching.
Class of 2017 offensive line needs: 4
Class of 2017 offensive line commits: 4
Four-star offensive lineman Kayden Lyles got Wisconsin's 2017 recruiting class off to a great start when he committed to the Badgers last September. Lyles' older brother, Kare', is a freshman quarterback at Wisconsin and his father, Kevin, played at UW from rom 1993-1996 alongside current offensive coordinator coordinator Joe Rudolph.
"I think he's (Kayden Lyles) really natural on offense," Saguaro head coach Jason Mohns told BadgerBlitz.com. "He's played tackle for us all three years of high school going back to the second game of his freshman year. He plays tackle because it's a position of need for us, but he's more of a center or guard at the next level. For a while he was all offensive line, but then he tried some defense and he was really doing well. So I think he was kind of 50/50 on where he wanted to play, but he's gravitating back towards the offensive side.
"He's still really young and I think he can play anywhere and things could change. I think playing under coach Rudolph and the comfort level there is big for Kayden and will help him have success there."
In-state standouts Logan Bruss and Alex Fenton, commits No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, pledged to the Badgers after picking up offers during Wisconsin's junior day in February.
"He (Fenton) was basically recruited by all the Big Ten schools," Menomonie High School head coach Joe LaBuda told BadgerBlitz.com. "He's not about all the attention and putting everything out there, but a host of Big Ten schools were after him.
"He basically narrowed it down to Michigan and Wisconsin and then made his decision."
Four-star tackle Tyler Beach completed the unit when he pledged to Wisconsin in early April. The 6-foot-6, 280-pound senior chose UW over offers from Notre Dame, Michigan, Arkansas and a handful of other schools.
"There’s such a huge upside for Tyler because he’s so young right now, he’s just 16 years old," Bunyan said. "He has the ability to still grow and they saw his work ethic and the type of person he is. He’s good in the classroom and well respected amongst his peers and teachers. Tyler’s always got a smile on his face and he’s a positive kid. I think Wisconsin and all the other schools saw the total package.
"He’s got great feet and comes off the ball real well to finish blocks. He does a great job of getting to the second level and locking up with linebackers. We run a little bit of a wing-T-based blocking scheme and he does some tremendous things that way. I just think his initial burst and first step, along with how he finishes blocks, was the reason why he was so heavily recruited."
Who else came off the board?
Prior to landing the four in-state linemen, the coaching staff sent out a number of scholarships across the country. Kai-Leon Herbert (Michigan) Jake Moretti (Ohio State), Micah Clark (Rutgers), Jordan McNair (Maryland), Noah DeHond (Clemson), Ben Petrula (Boston College) and CJ Thorpe (Penn State) all eventually committed to other schools. But Joshua Lugg was the prospect the Badgers likely had the best chance with. The four-star from Pennsylvania visited Madison and had UW in his top group before he committed early to Notre Dame.
Early look at class of 2018 offensive line targets:
It will be interesting to see what Rudolph does in the 2018 class, which will likely be very tight on numbers for offensive linemen. Jackson Carman is the only junior lineman with a known offer right now as the staff continues to make evaluations this summer and fall.