Rivals250 OL Kevin Heywood commits to Wisconsin

In his first year on staff at Wisconsin, offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. has helped the Badgers land two four-star tackles in the 2024 recruiting class.

After it secured a pledge from in-state standout Derek Jensen this spring, UW locked in a commitment from Kevin Heywood this weekend during an official visit. The Rivals250 standout made the news public on Tuesday evening.

"Coach Bicknell is a great dude and a great leader for the offensive line," Heywood told BadgerBlitz.com. "He loves joking around and having a good time, but when he's on the field he's all business. He's definitely a big reason why I committed.

"It feels awesome and a bunch of pressure has been taken off my shoulders. I'm totally happy with my decision and I wouldn't want to go anywhere else. I committed while we were out on the water on Saturday. I told some of the coaches that if they jumped in, I would commit. I was planning to do it Sunday, but it was all love other on the boat, so I had to do it."

Heywood, 6-foot-7 and 295 pounds, racked up offers from Georgia, Notre Dame, Alabama and Michigan, among many other, during the course of his recruitment. He also had officials set to Auburn, Kentucky and USC later this month.

"I really just felt at home," Heywood said. "I went in with an open mind and I didn't think I was going to commit. I took all my spring visits and I didn't commit, and I really thought that I would take all my officials as well. But the players, the coaches and how everyone interacted with my family made Wisconsin home for me. Not just home for me, but for my whole family."

Commit No. 11 for the Badgers, Heywood, from Pope John Paul II in Pennsylvania, is the third Rivals250 prospect, along with Jensen and quarterback Mabrey Mettauer. He was hosted last weekend by offensive tackle Nolan Rucci.

"I was hosted by Nolan Rucci, who is also from Pennsylvania," Heywood said. "His brother is also there and I really enjoyed my time with them. They showed me exactly what it's like at Wisconsin and they showed a ton of love."

Rivals.com ranks Heywood as the No. 18 tackle in the country and the No. 8 prospect in Pennsylvania's 2024 class. He is excited to see what head coach Luke Fickell can do at Wisconsin after the success he had at Cincinnati.

"They said I have a great build for a tackle," Heywood said. "I'm athletic and I can bend. I fire off the ball and I fit in well with their offense.

"I think Coach Fickell is a great guy and he really made Cincinnati the place to be by taking them to the playoffs even though they weren't a Power 5 team. So it's really big for have him as my head coach."

Heywood has a chance to play next season with fellow Pennsylvania offensive lineman Ryan Cory, who is also expected to make his decision on Tuesday evening.

"We coordinated that," Heywood said. "Ryan's my guy and we have a good relationship. We first met at Vanderbilt and we talked every single day after that. We both felt the love at Wisconsin and we both really enjoyed it. I'm excited to see where he ends up."

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