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 quarterback needs: 2
Class of 2017 quarterback commits: 2
Wisconsin essentially landed a "Tier 1" recruit at quarterback, as head coach Paul Chryst made four early offers at the position and connected on Jack Coan, a four-star prospect from New York.
A 6-foot-4, 190-pound Rivals250 quarterback, Coan committed to the Badgers in late March and became the fifth overall prospect to join the class at that time. The No. 11 pro-style signal caller in the country had well over double-digit offers, but in the end picked UW over Nebraska and Northwestern.
"I really like the way Coan fits into Wisconsin's scheme," Rivals.com recruiting analyst Adam Friedman said. "He has gotten much stronger over the past year and has really filled out his frame. Coan is also much more athletic and much tougher than people give him credit for. He could end up being classified as a dual-threat quarterback before all is said and done.
"As a passer, Coan has good arm strength and is very accurate with the football. I like his quick release and ability to throw his receiver open. Coan also has a high football IQ and he should be able to pick up the offense very quickly."
Coan completed 168 of 260 passes (64.6 percent) in 2015, throwing for 2,499 yards with 36 touchdown passes for Sayville High School. And while he's is listed as a pro-style quarterback, Coan rushed 164 times for 1,275 yards and had 17 rushing touchdowns in 2015.
In addition to Coan, Wisconsin picked up a big in-state pledge from Kimberly's Danny Vanden Boom, who will begin his career in Madison as a preferred walk-on.
"I'll be a preferred walk-on for the first semester and then in January of 2018 they'll have a scholarship for me," Vanden Boom told BadgerBlitz.com. "I camped with Wisconsin a few weekends back and things went very well. We started in the classroom, breaking down some film and drawing plays up on the whiteboard. Then we went outside to throw some routes and it was a good workout.
"To conclude, coach Chryst and coach (Jon) Budmayr expressed their interest in me and encouraged me to find the right fit. I feel like I have found that in Wisconsin."
The arrival of Coan (will enroll early) and Vanden Boom will be huge for the Badgers, which recently went through spring camp with two healthy scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.
Talk about the quarterbacks in the Badgers' Den | Coach: "Sky is the limit" for QB Danny Vanden Boom | Coach: Unofficial visit, time with Chryst sold Coan on Wisconsin
Who else came off the board?
The other quarterbacks in Wisconsin's first wave of offers included Davis Mills (Stanford), Myles Brennan (LSU) and Lindell Stone (Virginia). Mills, the No. 28 prospect in the nation, was likely a long-shot. UW was in contention for both Brennan and Stone until they were able wrap up Coan, who the staff was ecstatic to land early in the process.
