Fact or Fiction: Wisconsin will sign at least five 2024 Illinois prospects
Rivals national recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove, Jon McNamara of BadgerBlitz.com, Tyler James of InsideNDSports.com and national analyst Sean Williams tackle three topics and determine whether they think each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Wisconsin will sign at least five players from the state of Illinois in the 2024 class.
Cosgrove's Take: FICTION. I would put the number right at five If I were setting a Vegas line as I see the Badgers signing anywhere between four to six recruits from the Land of Lincoln in 2024. There are currently two in boat in Kyan Berry-Johnson and Grant Stec, with an additional two Illinois recruits scheduled for official visits in Darrion Dupree and Dillan Johnson. I love the Badgers' chances with Dupree and would feel equally strong about Johnson if wrestling weren't such a big variable in his recruitment. LeonTre Bradford and Tysean Griffin are two additional players I could see landing at Wisconsin, but the picture gets a little cloudy after that due to some of the remaining offers not being takes and others likely being long shots. While the path to five is certainly there - and my confidence in saying fiction is not high - I see Wisconsin likely signing four players from the state of Illinois during this cycle.
McNamara's take: FACT. From day one, Luke Fickell and his coaching staff have put a heavy emphasis on recruiting the state of Illinois. In the 2024 class, the Badgers already have commitments from Stec, a tight end, and wide receiver Kyan Berry-Johnson (Bolingbrook). In June, Wisconsin also locked in official visits from Johnson, a defensive tackle, and Dupree, a tailback. Both of those players are current FutureCast favorites to land at UW. Beyond those four, Griffin, Bradford, Marquise Lightfoot, Joe Barna, Eddie Tuerk and I’Marion Stewart are also strong candidates to make return visits to Madison next month. With that, I expect the Badgers to sign at least five prospects from Illinois in the current junior cycle.
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2. Notre Dame's next commitment will come from Teddy Rezac.
Cosgrove's take: FACT. Rezac had been flying under the radar with one Power Five offer, and his most recent offer coming from Northern Iowa prior to Notre Dame entering the picture with a scholarship on May 6. The Irish offer obviously held some weight with the three-star athlete from Nebraska because he wasted little time in making his way to campus for an unofficial visit the next day. Word out of South Bend is that the visit went about as well as one could go, and even though his recruitment is just beginning to heat up, I love Notre Dame's chance here. I would be extremely surprised if Rezac didn't announce his commitment to Notre Dame in the very near future.
James' take: FACT. Given how quickly things have moved between Notre Dame and Rezac, he jumped into the position of being most likely to commit to the Irish sooner rather than later. Certainly, Notre Dame has to get through the finish line with its newest linebacker target, but all reports from both sides indicate the Sunday-Monday visit went really well. And it doesn't sound like Nebraska would be a significant threat to slow things down if it came through with an offer. Notre Dame liked what it saw in a recruit that was flying under the radar, and it gained Rezac's full attention with the plan in place for his future in the ND defense.
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3. George MacIntyre is the biggest threat to Bryce Underwood for the No. 1 spot at quarterback in the 2025 class.
Cosgrove's take: FACT. Despite MacIntyre's lofty ranking in our initial Rivals250 release for the 2025 class, the more I watch and study his game the more I feel he is underrated. I am not the only one with that belief, as the young quarterback's recruitment has blown up in recent months with offers coming from a number of college football's blueblood programs such as Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame and others. Yes, I still see Bryce Underwood as the top quarterback in this class, but I see MacIntyre as being a close second for the time being, and he could give Underwood a run for his money by the time this class has signed.
Williams' take: FACT. There probably isn't a 2025 quarterback that has seen his stock soar more in recent months than MacIntyre, whose offer list now includes the likes of Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee, LSU, UCLA and a slew of others. At 6-foot-5 and 180 pounds, MacIntyre possesses elite arm talent and can make all the throws from the pocket or on the run. He's also a talented hoops player for his high school team, so when the pocket breaks down he's more than capable of picking up big yards with his legs.