4-star Wisconsin football defensive back target commits to SEC school

Originally posted on Wisconsin Badgers on SI
By Jake Kocorowski | Last updated Jun 16, 2025 7:00 PM ET

An Illinois defensive back will south to play in the SEC rather than the University of Wisconsin football program.

Messiah Tilson, who plays for Rockford Guilford, announced Monday his commitment to Kentucky.

Tilson currently is a four-star recruit by 247Sports and ESPN, and he was projected to play safety at Wisconsin. He named the Badgers among his top six programs in early May alongside Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Minnesota and Rutgers.

After a triple fakeout, 4-star Guilford DB Messiah Tilson commits to Kentucky! Video and comments to come soon. @GVikeAthletics @mini_sago11 @UKFootball pic.twitter.com/qDhaTwtrYc
— Joshua Shuman (@JShumanTV) June 16, 2025

Tilson took an official visit to Wisconsin in late April. His Instagram page also shows photo shoots at Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky and Rutgers, which would denote official visits to those programs.

He also recently refined his top schools list to the Badgers, Scarlet Knights, Gophers and Wildcats.

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— Messiah Tilson (@mini_sago11) June 11, 2025

Wisconsin has received one verbal commitment from a projected safety in three-star recruit Zachary Taylor (Katy Jordan, Texas), who announced his decision Friday.

The Badgers have hosted other safety targets on official visits within the last month, including Nick Reddish (Charlotte Independence), Chase Geter (Ashburn Stone Ridge, Virginia) and Georgia teammates Jowell Combay and Tony Forney Jr. (Marietta Kell).