{"id":295516,"date":"2026-06-04T07:33:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T07:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/295516\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T07:33:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T07:33:17","slug":"breaking-wisconsin-flips-florida-state-commit-mekhi-williams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/295516\/","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Wisconsin Flips Florida State Commit Mekhi Williams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wisconsin has been zeroing in on Mekhi Williams<\/a> (Ruskin, Fla.\/Lennard) for numerous months now. Over the weekend, their hard work paid off as the Badgers were able to flip the Rivals 300 defensive back from Florida State.<\/p>\n

After an unofficial visit to Madison in April, Williams stated he \u201cfell in love\u201d with UW. During his second trip, Williams felt compelled to not only de-commit from the Seminoles but hop on board with the Badgers on the spot. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe relationship just kept growing with Wisconsin. I can\u2019t turn it down,\u201d Williams told Badger Blitz. \u201cI just loved everything about Wisconsin. It seems like a place I can get developed at and make a name for myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fell in love with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams had been committed to the Seminoles since March of 2025. The four-star prospect also had scholarship offers from Miami (FL), Florida, LSU, Nebraska, Colorado, Auburn, Georgia Tech, and more.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, the four-star defensive back told head coach Luke Fickell<\/a> of his decision. That started a frenzy in the football offices. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey were going nuts. It was crazy,\u201d said Williams. \u201cAfter I told coach Fickell, I went downstairs. I told Pat (Pat Lambert) and Pat literally screamed. After that, I told Coach Steeples (Robert Steeples<\/a>). Pat was screaming, \u2018We got a Badger.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody went crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Williams had been committed to FSU for over a year, he said his decision to flip was bigger than football.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relationship part was a real big part for me,\u201d said Williams. \u201cThen the academics were a big part, too. It\u2019s not just about football with me. I want to get my degree, because anything can happen. But that relationship \u2014 I talk to those coaches almost every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams also took an unofficial visit to Wisconsin in March, which put the Badgers on the map. Over the weekend, many of those same feelings returned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fell in love with it again,\u201d Williams said. \u201cIt\u2019s a special place for me. It was special for me going up that first weekend. The coaches mean everything to me. I\u2019ve developed that relationship, and I can\u2019t wait to be back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great out there. That\u2019s all I can say.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a junior, Williams had 33.0 tackles and two interceptions for Lennard, who went 8-3. Earlier this spring, Williams was named the MVP at the Under Armour Next camp in Orlando. Wisconsin likes the 6-foot-2, 170-pounder at cornerback.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talked to them almost every day,\u201d Williams explained. \u201cThat relationship is there for sure. They want me to be a boundary corner. That\u2019s a big step for me, and that\u2019s something I know I can do in college. That\u2019s something I want to do in college.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose coaches are like family to me. We\u2019re so close. I can\u2019t wait to continue building that relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams is the seventh four-star addition to Wisconsin\u2019s 2027 recruiting class, which is up to 17 commits. He is also the first cornerback the Badgers have secured thus far. Per the Rivals Industry, Williams is the nation\u2019s No. 14 ranked safety. He is the fourth-highest rated player UW has ever landed from the state of Florida.<\/p>\n

With roughly six months until the early signing period, Williams considers his recruitment finished. Williams intends to enroll early at UW in January.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy recruitment is shut down completely,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like the people around me there are going to push me. I\u2019m just excited and ready for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wisconsin has been zeroing in on Mekhi Williams (Ruskin, Fla.\/Lennard) for numerous months now. Over the weekend, their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295517,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,124529,2521],"class_list":["post-295516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-mekhi-williams-27-lennard","tag-wisconsin-badgers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}