The football season may have just ended, but the next season is already getting under way. With the 2017 season just beginning, some young Badgers joined signed on to join the team today.
National Signing Day is normally low on surprises, but high in pageantry. It is the first time that anyone starts to really talk about the season to come, and that naturally breeds excitement. That excitement coincides with the excitement coming from the incoming 2017 recruiting class.
This year though, the Badgers ended up landing 4-star rated WR Danny Davis today as he choose Wisconsin.
Along with the 29 recruits, the Badgers will also be adding CB Nick Nelson (Hawaii), RB Chris James (Pitt) and LB Christian Bell (Alabama) via transfer, adding to an already impressive talent pool.
Of the group who signed, seven are early enrollees, including one of highest rated recruits, OG Kayden Lyles, who also happens to be the younger brother of QB Kare Lyles.
Leading the pack of recruits with Kayden is QB recruit Jack Coan. In only four games during his senior season with Sayville high school, Coan threw for 744 yards with a completion percentage of almost 69 percent. He also tacked on 11 touchdowns, while limiting the mistakes with only two interceptions.
Coan also has some running ability going for 311 rushing yards on 40 carries and three touchdowns.
Another interesting early-enrollee is Junior College transfer Andrew Van Ginkel, who played football with Iowa Western last season. In the 2016-17 season, Van Ginkel totaled 50 tackles and 3.5 sacks to go along with one interception.
In the special teams department, the Badgers added the highest ranked long-snapper in the country, Adam Bay out of Mesa, Texas.
The only other surprise of the day was QB Danny Vanden Boom (what a name for a QB) was given a scholarship, giving the Badgers four scholarship QB’s.
Below is a list of the whole 2017 recruiting class, ordered by rank (according to 247 Sports).
| Danny Davis | WR | Signed | 6-3 | 190 | Springfield, OH |
| Kayden Lyles | OG | Early-enrollee | 6-3 | 323 | Middleton, WI |
| Jake Ferguson | TE | Signed | 6-5 | 209 | Madison, WI |
| Jonathan Taylor | RB | Signed | 6-0 | 211 | Salem, NJ |
| Jack Coan | QB | Early-enrollee | 6-3 | 190 | West Sayville, NY |
| Tyler Beach | OT | Signed | 6-6 | 275 | Port Washington, WI |
| Andrew Van Ginkel | OLB | Early-enrollee (Ju-Co transfer) | 6-4 | 230 | Council Bluffs, IA |
| Izayah Green-May | DE | Early-enrollee | 6-5 | 205 | Bolingbrook, IL |
| Logan Bruss | OG | Signed | 6-4 | 260 | Kimberly, WI |
| Aaron Vopal | DE | Signed | 6-8 | 240 | De Pere, WI |
| Cade Green | WR | Signed | 5-11 | 185 | Austin, TX |
| Faion Hicks | CB | Early-enrollee | 5-11 | 180 | Pembroke Pines, FL |
| Scott Nelson | S | Signed | 6-2 | 184 | Detroit, MI |
| Madison Cone | CB | Early-enrollee | 5-8 | 178 | Kernersville, NC |
| Alex Fenton | TE | Signed | 6-5 | 280 | Menomonie, WI |
| Emmet Perry | WR | Signed | 6-2 | 170 | DeSoto, TX |
| Deron Harrell (grayshirt) | WR | Early-enrollee | 6-3 | 175 | Denver, CO |
| Adam Bay | LS | Signed | 6-0 | 210 | Mesa, TX |
| Danny Vanden Boom | QB | Signed | 6-4 | 196 | Kimberly, WI |
| Matt Henningsen | OT | PWO | 6-5 | 260 | Menomonee Falls, WI |
| Jake Collinsworth | LB | PWO | 6-1 | 230 | Merrill, WI |
| Hunter Johnson | RB | PWO | 6-0 | 213 | Darlington, WI |
| Collin Larsh | K/P | PWO | 5-11 | 180 | Monona, WI |
| Sam DeLany | WR/CB | PWO | 5-11 | 170 | Wales, WI |
| Coy Wanner | OLB | PWO | 6-3 | 230 | Green Bay, WI |
| Josh Seltzner | OL | PWO | 6-3 | 265 | Columbus, WI |
| Blake Smithback | OL | PWO | 6-3 | 280 | Waunakee, WI |
| Ethan Cesarz | ILB | PWO | 6-1 | 220 | Delavan, WI |
| Michael Balistreri | DE | PWO | 6-4 | 280 | Grafton, WI |
