Former Wisconsin star joins effort to recruit Caleb Williams

Quarterback Caleb Williams has been linked to a few schools since entering the transfer portal. USC has largely been rumored, with Lincoln Riley heading to Los Angeles as the head coach. LSU, UCLA, and even a return to Oklahoma have been reported as possibilities as well.

However, one school came out of nowhere in the recruitment with the Wisconsin Badgers. On3’s Gerry Hamilton reported the Badgers were becoming a real possibility for Williams and the timeline continues to extend.

Former Wisconsin players are starting to get involved as well. Legendary running back Montee Ball tweeted at Williams on Friday, trying to get the quarterback to play for the Badgers.

“Caleb Williams… come on over to Camp Randall,” Ball said via a tweet. “You will not regret it!”

Ball followed up with another tweet. This time, it was just a badger emoji, with Williams still getting tagged. At the very least, former Wisconsin players are publically recruiting the former On3 No. 1 overall player.

The ground game has always been the focus of Wisconsin’s offense, producing special running backs such as Ball on a yearly basis. Williams would be able to add a new sprinkle to the run game as a quarterback. He proved multiple times this season he is able to gain chunk yards on the ground.

In his freshman season at Oklahoma, Caleb Williams threw for 1,912 yards with 21 touchdowns and four interceptions, adding 442 rushing yards and six touchdowns over 11 appearances before opting to transfer.

Ever since Williams entered the portal, he has been the No. 1 overall player available according to the On3 transfer rankings. UCLA, USC, and Wisconsin are the three teams in contention according to the RPM. The Trojans currently have a massive lead at 84%, while the Badgers are behind at 15.5%. Chip Kelly and the Bruins fill up the other half percent.

Williams has taken two known visits, to the two Los Angeles schools.

Wisconsin finished 9-4 in 2021, including a 6-3 mark in the Big Ten. The Badgers used preseason Davey O’Brien Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list quarterback Graham Mertz, a sophomore, throughout the season.

Mertz threw for less than 2,000 yards on the season, playing in all 13 games. He ended the year with 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions along with a 59.5 completion percentage.

Adding somebody like Williams to the roster would instantly raise Wisconsin toward the top of the Big Ten and possibly on the national stage.

On3’s James Fletcher contributed to this report