5 surprises from Wisconsin football's defense during spring practices
Spring breakdowns continue with a look at those who emerged to stand out on defense.
The University of Wisconsin football team overhauled its cornerback group this offseason, but one returning second-year player showed his potential to help the defense this spring.
Wisconsin signed four cornerbacks — Cai Bates (Florida State), Eric Fletcher (Arizona State), Javan Robinson (Arizona State) and Bryce West (Ohio State) — during a very busy offseason for the program. All four received first- and second-team reps during the Badgers’ 15 spring practices, but so did redshirt freshman Jai’mier Scott.
Scott, a former four-star recruit by Rivals in the 2025 class, didn’t play in a game last season. But he more than held his own since March 19 and appears to have put himself in the conversation to be a significant contributor at outside corner when fall camp commences in August.
“I think Jai’mier, when you look at talent, you look at his footwork and things, he’s probably one of the best I’ve ever been around footwork-wise,” secondary coach Paul Haynes said. “He just needed to mature a little bit with the consistency to do the good things over and over again. But he’s tough. He’ll hit you.
“We brought him in as a safety. We actually recruited him as a safety and then moved him to corner just because of his skill set. So definitely the skill set. He has a skill set to probably be one of the best, I’ll say it again, best I’ve been around. He just has to continue to be consistent about it. So when you look at again, ball skills, tackling, setting edges, covering, he has all those abilities.”
Badger Observer continues its spring ball breakdowns with a look at four other players on defense who surprised during the 15 practices. Remember to check out Thursday’s feature on four players who fit our criteria on offense. And to explain what a surprise means in this two-part feature, we’re highlighting players whose expectations (by our site specifically) weren’t necessarily defined entering late March but their play and roles stood out.
