2020 QB Kody Sparks wants to return to Wisconsin after Friday's camp

Having secured his quarterback for the 2019 class - four-star Graham Mertz - this fall, Jon Budmayr used the off-season to lay a lot of the recruiting groundwork at the position in the 2020 class and beyond.

Friday, the Badgers quarterbacks coach was able to evaluate one of the targets on his sophomore board, as Kody Sparks made the trip from Fischers, Ind., to Madison for camp.

"Coach Budmayr flew into Indy and came to my high school for our college day and invited me to the camp," Sparks said. "He told me that as a staff they were very interested in me and also very impressed by my arm talent.

"Wisconsin’s camp was great and I thought I threw pretty well. The coaching that we got from it was outstanding as well. Everything they did was for the betterment of you as a player and I enjoyed that. I felt like the camp was a great camp and I look forward to coming back to Madison sometime soon. Hopefully I can catch a game this upcoming season to see how the crowd and fans are."

Sparks, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound sophomore from Hamilton Southeastern High School, received some instruction from UW starting quarterback Alex Hornibrook, who helped work the camp.

"I didn't get a ton of feedback from coach Budmayr, but their QB (Hornibrook) was talking a little bit to me," Sparks said. "What we talked about was just that when I go under center I should start a little more athletic underneath as far as pre-snap. For me, my high school is 99 percent out of shotgun, so that is why I was standing up taller. It was great feedback and it’s what I needed to hear because the colleges that I’m looking at, like Wisconsin, are primarily under center.

"For me, Wisconsin is going to be a great contender in my recruitment. It’s truly a school that I would love to go to. I really like coach Budmayr and I feel like their style of offense fits me perfectly and I could see myself running it very effectively."

When Wisconsin's camp concluded Friday, Sparks boarded a plane to attend UCLA's the following day (Saturday).

"UCLA was great and I got really good feedback from them," Sparks, who has an early offer from Northern Iowa, said. "They seem to be really interested in me. Coach (Chip) Kelly and Coach (Dana) Bible, their QB coach, want me to stay in touch with them and go from there.

"I’ve been to UCLA four times now and I’ve built great relationships."

Sparks, who threw for over 700 yards with two touchdowns as a sophomore, plans to visit a handful of other schools this summer.

"I plan to get out to Ohio State, Ole Miss, Purdue, Iowa, Ball State, Northwestern, Cincinnati and Miami of Ohio. I might add one or two more but as of right now I think that’s it," Sparks said. "All of them either have been in contact with me or came to my school inviting me to come. They all have told me that they want me to come to camp and evaluate me for an offer."

In the 2020 class, Wisconsin has known offers out to quarterbacks Max Johnson and Harrison Bailey.