Wisconsin Football Recruits: Latest Updates on 2014 Commits, Visits and Targets

Ever since Gary Andersen was hired to be the head coach of the Wisconsin football team, the Badgers have made remarkable strides in recruiting.  

While many of Andersen's swings have been misses, he's expanded the Badgers' recruiting area immensely and stepped up the Badgers targets in a major way.

While Andersen has had trouble mining the Badgers' traditional recruiting area—namely Minnesota and Wisconsin—he's made major strides in California, Texas and Florida, garnering 10 of the Badgers' 19 recruits from those three states alone.

The Badgers' recruiting class currently sits at No. 22 overall and fourth in the Big Ten behind Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan.  The Badgers have an outside chance of sneaking into the top 20 after all is said and done but will likely find themselves among the top 30 teams when it comes to recruiting.

With plenty of high-profile targets still uncommitted while the Badgers continue to try to flip others, the next few weeks will be pivotal as the Badgers attempt to round out their 2015 recruiting class.  

Let's take a look at their commits, upcoming visits and targets still in play for the Badgers as they close out their non-conference schedule.

QB Austin Kafentzis

Credit: 247Sports

Austin Kafentzis is on the precipice of rewriting the Utah high school record book.

When the Badgers got dual-threat quarterback Austin Kafentzis to commit on June 18, 2013, before his junior year even started, few could have realized just how good he would be.  

Fast forward to three games into his senior season and Kafentzis is on the precipice of breaking just about every record in the state of Utah.

Kafentzis, a 3-star quarterback from Sandy, Utah, has led the Beetdiggers—seriously, that's their mascot—to a 3-0 record on the strength of his 73 carries for 597 yards and nine touchdowns to go along with 31-of-67 passing for 607 passing yards and six touchdowns.

Those numbers are unbelievable, but when you put it in context with his career stats, they all pop off the page.  Kafentzis is 172 yards shy of the Utah state rushing record and also seven carries shy of the most attempts in Utah state history, according to Tom Wharton of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Kafentzis has an official visit set for October 25 alongside two other commits—Mohamed Barry and Dominic Sheppard—as well as Antonyo Sotolongo, Olive Sagapolu, Elu Aydon and Osa Masina.  

The Badgers are the favorite for Aydon, according to 247Sports, while Sagapolu is one of the top targets for the Badgers.

Having Kafentzis on campus is huge for the Badgers as he has a chance to be the starter for years, and having him around other potential recruits is enormous.  Furthermore, getting him and Masina on the same weekend may be the push the Badgers need to try to sign the incredibly talented linebacker.

RB Jordan Scarlett

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Though they are a long shot to flip and sign him, Jordan Scarlett still remains in play for the Badgers.

Let's start with one thing: Running back Jordan Scarlett has verbally committed to Miami.  

The 4-star running back from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, didn't even include the Badgers in his top four in May before choosing Miami, yet the Badgers are still very much in play for the talented back.

The Badgers already have one running back verbally committed: Davon Crookshank, a 3-star running back from Missouri City, Texas.  And they are in play for many others, including Jordan Stevenson, Bradrick Shaw, Reggie Gallaspy and more.

But Scarlett has talent that knows no bounds.  And his high school, St. Thomas Aquinas, was the former home of former Badgers James White, Conor O'Neill and Dezmen Southward.  

While all three are gone, there does seem to be something of a pipeline between the high school and Madison.

Do I think the Badgers will end up with Scarlett?  Probably not.

But the fact that they are getting him to come on September 27, the same weekend as ace recruiter and recruit himself Kyle Penniston, who has as good a shot to flip Scarlett as anyone else—the coaching staff included—maybe it's not such a long shot.

ATH Zack Baun

Credit: 247Sports

If Zack Baun were to sign with the Badgers, he would be only the third in-state prospect for the class of 2015.

Late last week, the Badgers gave 3-star athlete Zack Baun a grayshirt offer.  For those of you who don't know what a grayshirt is, it is where the player pays their own way for their first semester on-campus before receiving a scholarship for the second semester.

Baun is the sixth-ranked player in the state of Wisconsin for the class of 2015, according to 247Sports.  And this offer shows the coaching staff's commitment to recruiting in-state despite offers all over the map.  

Thus far, the Badgers have signed two players from Wisconsin—Jon Dietzen and David Pfaff—with few others on the horizon outside of Baun.

This is a marked change from the past, when the Badgers heavily mined Wisconsin for in-state talent.  The Badgers signed seven from the state of Wisconsin in both 2013 and 2014.

While Wisconsin may not have quite as much talent as Texas or California, the coaching staff will need to make sure to maintain the relationships with coaches as it can't let local talent slip through the cracks just to take shots in Georgia or Texas.

ILB Jordan Griffin

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Linebacker Jordan Griffin is likely the next person to commit to the Badgers.

If you were looking for where the Badgers next commitment will come from, look no further than inside linebacker Jordan Griffin.  

Griffin, a 3-star linebacker from Seffner, Florida, is scheduled to visit on September 27.  And a commitment should follow shortly thereafter.

Griffin stands at 6'0" and 207 pounds with the frame to support extra weight as he makes the transition into a Big Ten linebacker.  If the Badgers could secure the commitment of Griffin and potentially Osa Masina, they would be able to quickly reload a season after taking only one: T.J. Edwards.

Griffin has the athleticism that fits into the coaching staff's plans to make its linebacking corps faster and more athletic.  A commitment from him is yet another step in the right direction for the implementation of defensive coordinator Dave Aranda's aggressive 3-4 scheme.

ATH Isaac James

Credit: 247Sports

Isaac James has a good chance to commit to the Badgers quickly before his spot gets taken.

Athlete Isaac James, a 3-star prospect from Carmel, Indiana, has a lot of what the Badgers are looking for out of their cornerbacks.  Though he's not the fastest—he runs a 4.50 40-yard dash—he's very quick on tape and looks ready to commit.

He's one of the many visitors on September 27 and seems primed to commit before the calendar flips to October.  Currently committed to the Badgers are a pair of corners from Texas: teammates Takadrae Williams and X'zavaie Ausborne.  

Of the two of them, Williams looks primed to compete for playing time right away whereas Ausborne is still extremely raw and looks to be more of an entry into Texas recruiting than someone the coaching staff necessarily expects to play immediately.

James would be a key piece to the recruiting class, which thanks to attrition from last season, still has a few remaining spots.  But players like James can't afford to drag their heels too much since by the time homecoming rolls around at the end of October, spots could come at a premium.

Recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports.com's composite scores.