Here are some scary thoughts for opponents of Stoughton (Wis.) High School this year. Their big junior-to-be left tackle Jack Nelson, a Wisconsin Badger commit, is even bigger and he is ready to play both sides of the ball.

And this will be his third year of varsity football already.

“My first year as a head coach, Jack was an incoming freshman,” Stoughton head coach Dan Prahl said. “We were thin at offensive tackle, so I brought him up [to varsity] right away to see what he could do. He was a big kid already at the time, and he just kept competing his tail off. I appreciated that and I know his teammates did as well. Not one kid complained about why a freshman was up and that is because he earned his way.”

He has continued to work on his game and in the weight room. Nelson played last season right around 240 pounds. Today, he stands 6-foot-7, 270 pounds.

“He has gotten bigger, a little taller, and is starting to fill out more, which is nice,” Prahl said. “You take that for granted a bit that he’s played two varsity seasons and he is still a young pup almost. He has developed well though, he is understanding leverage more, understanding our scheme, and we’re looking forward to him taking on more of a leadership role.”

Nelson’s father Todd Nelson played at Wisconsin, so when the Badgers offered, it took him less than a week to accept.

“I think, with his dad playing at Wisconsin – he had Michigan pretty high on him as well and wanted him to come out and visit – but Jack just grew up right in the backyard with the Badgers and going to those games,” Prahl explained. “In general, he just wanted to play for Wisconsin. The Wisconsin coaches appreciated that and as a high school coach, you want a kid to embrace it and enjoy the journey and experience, but he is focused and that’s nice. The stress is off of him, he knows where he wants to be and he can focus and get better.”

There are some myths about recruiting rankings that Nelson breaks. Typically, the thought is, kids who commit early are then hurt by that when it comes to being ranked. Then, on top of that, if that kid does not attend any camps, they are hurt even more. Nelson committed early and attended no camps where he would have been visible to recruiting sites, however, his frame, athleticism, and the tenacity with which he plays were evident enough on his sophomore tape for him to be highly regarded.

The industry-generated 247Sports Composite ranks him No. 241 overall and in the four-star range. 247Sports’ own rankings have him higher than that, he is at No. 151 nationally and No. 1 in the state of Wisconsin.

That is still just a starting point for Nelson, who still has room to add weight, again, not a great thought for future opponents.

“Really, fill out, which is where I can’t wait to see him,” Prahl said. “He reminds me a lot of Gabe Carimi from when he was at Monona Grove. I played against Gabe in high school and Jack has that same build, and all of a sudden, Gabe, as a senior, was a manchild. He was huge and you’re already starting to see that out of Jack going into his junior year. Now we’re going to start asking a little more out of him – we’re asking him to play defensive end as well this year. He’s just too good of an athlete to not have him on the field.”

Stoughton begins their season August 17th against Portage.

Nelson currently sits as the lone commit for the Badgers in their 2020 class.