Wisconsin football lands Gideon Ituka: What does 3-star RB bring to Badgers? -

Wisconsin football added a commitment Saturday from Gideon Ituka, a three-star running back from Gaithersburg, Md. Here’s what you need to know:

Ituka is rated as the No. 78 running back in the 247Sports Composite.
He earned scholarship offers from 15 schools, also including Boston College, Cincinnati, Syracuse and Tennessee.
Ituka becomes the 15th publicly committed prospect in Wisconsin’s 2024 recruiting class, including the seventh this month since official visits began.

SEALED DEAL 1000% COMMITTED!! 🔴⚪️🦡@jgpvisuals #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/ci5lsjHoPy

— Gideon Ituka 🇨🇲 (@GideonItuka25) June 17, 2023

What does this mean for Wisconsin?

Wisconsin has its first of two potential running backs in the 2024 recruiting class, allowing fans to breathe at least a small sigh of relief that someone at the position finally is on the board. The rest will be sorted out soon, with four-star running backs Darrion Dupree and Dilin Jones having made official visits to Madison this month.

Ituka is the kind of bruising tailback that became a staple over the years at Wisconsin. He is 5 feet 10 and 225 pounds, though his high school highlights do show some good burst when he gets a head of steam. Ituka finished his junior season with 174 carries for 1,217 yards — seven yards per attempt — with 16 touchdowns in 10 games. He added seven receptions for 104 yards. Gaithersburg football coach Shawn Prather compared Ituka to former Wisconsin running back Montee Ball and said the more Ituka gets the ball, the stronger he gets.

His physical, punishing running style allowed him to wear down opponents as he continued to rack up carries late in games. During his team’s regular-season finale, Ituka carried 34 times for 184 yards and two touchdowns. He followed up that performance with 29 carries for 193 yards and five touchdowns to help Gaithersburg secure its first playoff victory in 10 years.

“If you need one or two yards and it’s him and a defender and that’s all there is, he’s definitely going to give you those one or two yards,” said Tyler Bierly, who coached Ituka during the past three seasons at Gaithersburg High. “He is downhill. He’s smashmouth. But he also has the agility to make that one cut to separate himself and in the town that we face, he has the speed where once he gets out in the open, nobody’s really catching him.”

Ituka’s ability would seem to serve as a nice complement to the shiftier backs Wisconsin has been recruiting in the 2024 class. Wisconsin is set to lose fifth-year senior Chez Mellusi after next season, with junior Braelon Allen expected to pursue the NFL Draft. That would leave the Badgers with three returning scholarship players for 2024: Jackson Acker, Cade Yacamelli and Nate White.

Ituka earned a scholarship offer from Wisconsin’s previous coaching staff in May 2022. The Badgers’ current staff continued to make Ituka a priority and brought him to campus in April for the team’s spring scrimmage that was open to the public. Ituka’s only official visit was to Wisconsin last weekend.

What Ituka’s high school coach says about his fit

“Gaithersburg over the last 15, 20 years has not been the top level of football in our county here,” Bierly said. “So to have a player of his caliber doing what he has been doing I think speaks volumes about the type of player he is and the type of player he can be in college. He’s going to work his tail off to be the best player that he can be.

“I have no doubt in my mind that he’s going to be a great college football player, especially at a school like Wisconsin that’s going to foster his abilities, and he’s going to grow even more. That’s extremely exciting for me to think about.”

Required reading

(Photo courtesy of Ron Diehl)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k29ocmhkanxzfJFsZmluX2aEcLPInZyopl2ewba3wGauoquTpLu0tc1mnainpJeurbiMq5ycqqWewaq6xmaaqKWdnsGusc2tZg%3D%3D