Yesterday the Badgers received their ninth commitment for the 2014 football class as Tampa (Plant), Florida safety Austin Hudson took just 48 hours to say yes to an official offer from Wisconsin. Chances are before this week you've never heard of Hudson and the same goes for me.
However, if you are a Wisconsin fan his name could well be a name you want to keep an eye on.
"When we look back on this class, Austin Hudson could very well be considered the biggest steal for Wisconsin," Evan Flood of Badger247 told us. "The Florida safety really shined at Wisconsin's camp earlier this week with his athleticism. I think he could have a future at wide receiver as well, but for now, he'll be an important addition as the Badgers build their 3-4 defense."
It's also a sign that the Badgers under Gary Andersen are willing to change things up and keep things the same at the same time. What I mean by that is Andersen is clearly putting an emphasis on a players athletic ability over fitting him into a specific position – that's new. In the past it was more about finding athletes that fit into the mold they were looking for first. What isn't new is a Wisconsin program finding a diamond in the rough and pulling the trigger on an offer for said player.
Hudson comes to Wisconsin has a two-way high school player with apparent blazing speed (rumored 4.45 40yd dash speed),yet he isn't rated by 247sports or any of the other recruiting services out there. So why is he not rated by any of the recruiting services out there at all? Well, being injured for most of his junior season and thus not having an amazing offer sheet that goes with it sure hurts the ability to be rated.
The good news is that Andersen and his staff were smart enough to get him to camp and see the ability that is clearly shown from his spring football highlight video (which you can find here). It seems as if every class has this unexpected kind of guy that rises up the ranks by the time signing day roles around and Hudson could very well be that player in the 2014 class.
(Photo courtesy: 247sports)
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