Ruskin Lennard football coach KB Belton laughs at all the dominoes that fell into place to lead four-star cornerback Mekhi Williams to Wisconsin. It began last fall when Jake Chaney, a former Badgers linebacker who served on Luke Fickell’s staff last season, reached out to Belton simply to establish a relationship with him as a high school coach in south Florida.
Chaney, a Florida native himself, eventually asked if Belton could send him a list of players he could present to the staff for evaluation. Not long after, Wisconsin became intrigued by the immense talent of Williams, a standout defensive back for Belton who already was committed to Florida State. Williams was loyal, Belton told Wisconsin staffers. But if they wanted to reach out to have a conversation, they certainly could.
“Coach Chaney kind of opened the door to say, ‘Hold on, this might be something I need to explore’ because Mekhi had no idea who coach Chaney was,” Belton said. “He had no idea really what Wisconsin was about. So to have those pre-conversations of like academics, networking, life after football, those are things that are really important to Mekhi. So that opened the door.”
The initial introduction was one critical step. Another occurred when Florida State fired defensive backs coach Patrick Surtain Sr., with whom Williams was close. The next big piece came when Wisconsin hired Robert Steeples as its cornerbacks coach — someone Belton grew up playing against because the two were the same age and from the same area in St. Louis. That allowed Belton to help create a bridge for Williams to Steeples. Seventeen days after Surtain Sr. was dismissed, Steeples extended Williams a scholarship offer on December 22.
“They developed a really tight relationship,” Belton said. “Like, nicknames and things like that and joking back and forth. So I think that is what really started to push Wisconsin to the top. And there was no pressure. There was no pressure to communicate every day. There was no pressure to even talk about flipping. None of that.
“It was just like, ‘Man I like you as a kid. I like you as a coach. If you’ve got any questions or anything, reach out. Dude, do your thing. Florida State is getting a great guy and I just like you because you’re a good kid.’ I think that’s really what sold Mekhi on starting to open the door to say, ‘Hey, man, this might be different than what I thought.’”
All those steps culminated in Wisconsin landing one of its prized recruits in the 2027 class. Williams visited Wisconsin for the first time during spring practice in late April, returned for an official visit last weekend, de-committed from Florida State on Sunday and publicly announced his commitment to the Badgers on Wednesday.
“I knew it was going to be a strong contender as soon as they offered me based on how they talked to me, and I could tell their relationships were real,” Williams said. “Of course, I’m from Florida, so I’m used to that hot weather, the humidity. I know the cold is something I’ve got to get used to, but Madison is also a beautiful place. I thought as soon as I got there, it was going to be cornfields and everything. But it was a city, it was lakes and it was just beautiful all-around.”
Williams’ commitment continued a hot stretch for Wisconsin out of its opening official visit weekend. He marked the fourth pledge since Sunday, joining linebacker Nathan Jones (Goodyear, Ariz.), four-star wide receiver Jai Jones (Chandler, Ariz.) and cornerback Royalton Allen (Hesperia, Calif.). Wisconsin now has 17 committed prospects in the class, nine of whom are from inside the state.
Williams is rated in the 247Sports Composite as the No. 17 safety in the country. If he signs with Wisconsin, he would become the highest-rated composite high school defensive back for the Badgers since Brett Bell in 2001. Williams earned 23 scholarship offers and considered multiple schools. He originally planned to take four official visits to Wisconsin, Florida State, Nebraska and LSU. Maryland and Miami were in the mix previously. What stands out most about his game, according to Belton, is his versatility.
Belton said Williams played cornerback as a freshman on varsity, where he finished the season with six tackles and two interceptions. He moved to safety as a sophomore and flourished, recording 35 tackles and six interceptions. Williams finished his junior season with 33 tackles and two interceptions. He also played the nickel corner spot and occasionally was an overhang safety who effectively served as an additional outside linebacker and could blitz off the edge.
His ability to take away top wide receivers in certain games made him an intriguing prospect and was part of why Florida State became the first school to offer him in January 2025 after his sophomore season. Belton recalled a game during Williams’ freshman season in which he matched up against future UNLV wide receiver signee Jesse Harden and held him to two catches for a season-low eight yards.
Williams said he was recruited by schools as both a safety and a cornerback but will arrive at Wisconsin as a boundary corner who can provide length and athleticism. He said coaches compared him on film to Badgers cornerback Cai Bates, a 6-foot-3 transfer from Florida State.
“They really love how I could change up my direction and that I could come in there and play boundary corner instead of playing safety,” Williams said. “So they are going to take a chance on me at corner. That’s something that I know I have to do and will do once I get to Wisconsin.”
Belton said Williams, who is 6-2 1/2 and 170 pounds, continues to increase his speed and strength. Williams qualified for state in track and field in the 200-meter dash this spring as a junior, dropping his time from the 23-second range the previous year to 21.85 seconds. He turns 17 years old in July and plans to enroll early at Wisconsin next winter.
Belton noted Wisconsin, which now has seven four-star composite commits in the class, is “tearing it up” on the recruiting trail and showing its national reach.
“I think people are starting to catch on to, ‘Bro, you can play ball anywhere,’” Belton said. “‘You can go to the league from anywhere. You can get developed from anywhere.’ Now it’s getting kids to understand, ‘Well, this kid who lives in Tampa, Florida, who‘s been to Madison twice, OV’d there, loved it there, I should go see it for myself.’ That’s the biggest takeaway I got from it. Because his parents are from here and they loved it.”
Jai Jones another headlining commit
Williams and Jai Jones both served as key recruiting victories because of their versatility and playmaking ability. Jones finished last season at Chandler High School in Arizona with 54 receptions for 922 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 17.1 yards per catch. During his career, Jones has 114 catches for 1,502 yards and 12 touchdowns. Jones, at 6-2 and 175 pounds, used his length and speed to beat defenders on go routes but also showed an ability to catch contested passes and be utilized in multiple ways. Jones said Wisconsin stressed that versatility in its recruiting pitch.
Jai Jones is a four-star prospect who is rated as the No. 41 wide receiver in the country. (Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics)
“I can play inside, out, jet sweeps, go balls to single side coverage, 1-on-1 deals,” Jones said. “I think my versatility is unique and is different and it can help win games and win championships.”
Jones initially planned to take two more official visits to Cal and Arizona but committed to Wisconsin on his first trip to Madison. He credited new Badgers wide receivers coach Ari Confesor for his role in the recruitment.
“I got offered around the end of last season, but I wasn’t really in much connection with any coaches,” Jones said. “They also didn’t have a receiver coach at the time. But once coach Ari Confesor got the job, they told him, like, ‘Hey man, this is a guy on our board. We need you to go recruit him.’ He came down and watched me. Ever since then, we built a great relationship.
“Coach (Jeff) Grimes came down and watched me, the offensive coordinator, and I built a great relationship with him. They were very transparent and showed me how much of a priority I was to them and how much of an impact I could make.”
More visitors lined up
Wisconsin is coming off a weekend in which it hosted 19 recruits, 13 of whom already were committed to the Badgers. The second weekend of official visitors will feature a much smaller number but include plenty of priority targets.
The Badgers are expected to host six recruits in the 2027 class: wide receivers Steele Harris (Great Falls, Mont.) and Chuck Alexander (Cincinnati), offensive tackle Alijah Shaw (Overland Park, Kan.), safety Trey Roberson (Allan, Texas), defensive lineman Yahzeen Zion (Goodyear, Ariz.) and edge Brody Pfannenstiel (Hoisington, Kan.). Alexander currently is committed to Louisville, while Pfannenstiel is committed to Texas Tech.
Wisconsin is looking to add another wide receiver to pair with Jones in the class. Harris also is considering Cal and Michigan State. He caught 42 passes for 781 yards and seven touchdowns last season and also played as a quarterback and a defensive back. Shaw is coming off an Arkansas official visit and also is considering Minnesota and Iowa State.
As it stands, Wisconsin’s class includes one quarterback, one running back, one wide receiver, one tight end, four offensive linemen, two defensive linemen, two linebackers, one edge, two cornerbacks and two safeties.
(Top photo of Mekhi Williams courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics)