Back in 2022, the Illinois Fighting Illini stole a four-star wide receiver recruit from Luke Fickell. Now, he has a chance to steal him back for the Wisconsin Badgers.
Malik Elzy announced Sunday that he is leaving the Illinois program and redshirting the season. He is expected to enter the transfer portal after the season.
"He's an incredible kid from the Chicagoland area that I [would recruit] 100 times over again, and I just want him to be successful," Illinois coach Bret Bielema said of Elzy. "Some of the conversations after he told me he wanted to do what he did, or what he was going to do, I said, 'Man, all I want is for you to have success, right? I don't care where it's at or where it's going to be, or what it's going to be and what it entails. I want you to be successful.'"
Elzy clearly had a strong connection with Fickell in the past, so Wisconsin should have a strong chance to land him if they're interested.
He's listed at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds with an impressive set of physical tools. He hasn't quite put it all together at the college level, but coaches will see plenty of untapped potential in him.
The Badgers have a deep receiver room with plenty of up-and-coming athletes they like, but you can never have too many weapons for your quarterback.
Plus, it's always nice to steal a highly recruited player from a Big Ten rival.
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