We've got just about 2 weeks left until the beginning of a new year and as such it's time to take a look forward to 2012. Yes, I know we've got the Rose Bowl coming up, but a little peak into the future can't hurt either. As such we will be taking a look at all 11 verbal commits so far and give you an idea as to where they stand heading towards signing day.
Starting things off will be the most highly touted QB to ever come to Wisconsin, Bart Houston.
For each one of the 11 players I'll be giving you his stats, where the recruiting services have him, my personal thoughts on the player, video of the player, and any recent news.
Bart Houston:
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 201lbs.
Hometown/High School: Concord, CA/ De La Salle
Rankings:
247Sports: 4 stars: NR (nationally), #7 (position), #32 (state)
Rivals: 3 stars: NR (nationally), #12 (position), #43 (state)
Scout: 4 stars: NR (nationally), #4 (position), no state rankings via scout
2011 Stats:
57.9% completions, 1,818 yards, 15TD's, 6INT's
81 rushing attempts, 292 yards, 17TD's
My Thoughts:
There's been a ton of talk about Dayne Crist coming in as a potential one year transfer and that's all fine and well, but don't be surprised to see Bart Houston come in and compete for the starting job throughout fall camp. He was named to the prestigious ESPNRise Elite 11 this past summer and was shown to be a very highly thought of QB from most of the guys that worked with them in the camp, you know ex-NFL guys and such. In fact some had him as the 2nd best QB at the camp, so there's some serious talent in this youngster.
He clearly worked on his mechanics going into his Senior season, but the stats weren't quite as high as his Junior year and that's o.k. As you can see on the tapes below the kid has a rocket for an arm and can move around in and out of the pocket. He even ran for more TD's than he threw, but that's more of a byproduct of the wishbone style offense that De La Salle runs.
In the end this is perhaps the best QB coming out of high school that I've ever seen Wisconsin get. He has the intangables as well. He's been on the phone shoring up recruits for the Badgers and has clearly already bought into the system. The best part? All he does is win! He just pulled off his 3rd straight CIF State Championship, 35-0, over Westlake Village about a week ago.
As I said up front, I fully expect him to be right in the mix for the starting QB spot from the start of training camp. The question will be who comes into camp healthy (Phillips and Budmayr are question marks because of health issues), who has grown the most over the year (looking at you Joe Brennan and Joel Stave), or can Bart Houston show enough to get a chance right out of the gate? It could be a great time for Wisconsin to take a step back and find themselves a long term answer at QB and I just have a feeling we are looking at the next great Wisconsin QB.
As always, your thoughts are more than welcome. Like the commit? Think he's got things to work on? Whatever you've got to say, let us know!
2011 Video Highlights:
The videos below are a great indication of his overall level in his senior season. You'll also see him stacked up against another QB that many have rated the top QB in all of California for a good comparison. Enjoy:
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