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 2022 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 running backs.
QBs |
QUICK BREAKDOWN
In the 2021 class, the Badgers have commitments from projected tailbacks Loyal Crawford and Antwan Roberts; athlete Jackson Acker may also get his feet wet with John Settle and his group when he arrives on campus. With Garrett Groshek the lone senior at the position this fall/winter, taking one scholarship running back in the 2022 cycle makes sense. UW has already put out no less than nine offers at the position to current juniors.
OFFERED PROSPECTS
A 5-foot-11, 191-pound junior from Governor Mifflin Senior in Pennsylvania, Nicholas Singleton was on campus March 1 for the Badgers' junior day event. He could be the Badgers' top option at the position in the 2022 class.
"The coaches told me that I was a great player," Singleton told BadgerBlitz.com. "Coach (John) Settle wants to get me back there to get to know me more. Coach (Paul) Chryst said the same thing. They run the ball a lot and produce All-Americans. That's something I like. I really admire what Jonathan Taylor was able to do at Wisconsin. They also have a lot of other running backs who have had a lot of success there. Because of that, I could really see myself playing there."
Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin and Northwestern, according to Singleton, are showing the most interest at this point.
Gi'Bran Payne, who has a top 10 of Alabama, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Wisconsin, rushed for close to 800 yards as a sophomore, 133 of which in the OHSAA Division II Championship game. In 2019 he shared carries with Northwestern pledge Cam Porter.
"The offer came unexpectedly this evening," Payne told BadgerBlitz.com. "I wasn’t expecting the offer because the last time I talked to Coach (Joe) Rudolph was when he came to see me at school, and that was during the season."
