Wisconsin keeping tabs on in-state CB Clayton Bishop
Like many prospects across the country, Clayton Bishop's recruitment is in a bit of a standstill due to COVID-19.
But that didn't stop the in-state junior cornerback from Kenosha Indian Trail from picking up his first two scholarship offers.
"I have two offers right now from Bucknell and Northern Iowa," Bishop told BadgerBlitz.com. "It felt great to know that I can go somewhere for free and get to play my favorite sport at a Division 1 level.
"Outside of those two, I'm hearing a lot from Ivy League schools like Princeton, Dartmouth and Cornell. Northern Illinois, Eastern Illinois, Ball State and Air Force have been showing a lot of interest lately, too. Wisconsin and Iowa have invited me to junior days as well.
"It has been really hard not taking visits to some schools because it’s a lot harder to build the relationships and get impressions through texts."
Wisconsin hosted Bishop and his prep teammate, Kameron Lee, in early October. Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard also visited the school during the live contact period this winter.
"The visit to Wisconsin was good," Bishop said. "I got to meet Coach Leonhard for the first time, tour the stadium, talk to some players and watch warmups. The game was really rainy, so we went in a lounge inside the stadium to watch most of the game.
"Coach Leonhard visited my school in the winter and we talked. But right now I’m mostly just talking to their recruiting director about maybe getting to a practice when they resume."
Iowa, led by assistant coach Tim Polasek, has also been involved in Bishop's recruitment.
"In the fall I visited Notre Dame, Iowa, Wisconsin and Western Michigan," Bishop said. "I only got to attend one junior day at NIU before everything got cancelled.
"Coach Tim (Polasek) came to my school to watch me and a few others work out. For the visit at Iowa I got to try on the jerseys and take some pictures. We had a breakfast with the recruits while the recruiting director talked about the program and we watched warmups as well."
As a junior, Bishop had 17 tackles on defense and racked up 23 receptions for 231 yards and three touchdowns on offense.
"Hopefully I can get to Wisconsin, NIU, Eastern Illinois and Ball State when things open back up," said Bishop, who reported a 4.62-second 40-yard dash. "I'm definitely looking at the culture and feeling like a home in potential schools. I want to be comfortable wherever I go and at least have the opportunity to compete for a spot right away."
The Badgers currently have nine commitments in the 2021 class.