Top in-state QB prospect JJ Chapman aims to 'pave the way' in Wisconsin
Quarterback recruits from Wisconsin are often ignored nationally. Top 2028 prospect JJ Chapman wants to change that perception.
Landing a Power Four scholarship is a significant moment in the recruitment of any high school football player.
But when a Purdue offer came in for Oak Creek, Wisconsin native JJ Chapman, it was especially cathartic for the 2028 quarterback prospect.
“I’ve always been doubted," Chapman told BadgerNotes. "Being from Wisconsin, there aren’t a lot of kids, not a lot of quarterbacks, specifically, that make it to the Power 4 level. So I think just getting that first offer was something really special."
Prep Redzone Wisconsin ranks Chapman as the No. 1 quarterback and top overall player from the state in the class of 2028. He’s picked up early scholarship offers from Purdue, Toledo, and Virginia Tech, with plenty of other schools, including Notre Dame, showing interest.
I first met Chapman covering a Wisconsin football camp in the summer of 2024, when the young gunslinger was fresh out of 8th grade. Though he wasn’t even enrolled in high school yet, his arm talent and potential were clear as day.
Still, as a quarterback from the Badger State, Chapman acknowledges his recruitment comes with extra hurdles and added difficulties.
“It definitely has its disadvantages compared to states like Florida, Georgia, and California, where recruitment is hot, coaches are visiting schools every day, watching practice," Chapman said. "They don’t really have to leave their state and we only have one Division-I football school in our state. So I think that’s a little more challenging."
Chapman is right — only one Division-I program in the state means less coaches, scouts and eyes on Wisconsin’s high school football players. But as a state that’s traditionally known for producing massive offensive linemen, quarterbacks especially tend to fly under the national radar.
Wisconsin certainly has a strong high school football tradition, but that’s not enough to compete with the resources the aforementioned top football states in the country have at their disposal. Chapman knows it.
“I would say overall, I think the biggest thing is we lack any type of trainers, stuff like that. And we lack, like I said, multiple Division I colleges. I think there’s a new wave of people who have been helping out, and that’s why it’s starting to be more popular. But I think we’re just behind some states,” he said.
Still, Chapman won’t let the fact that he hails from Wisconsin deter his recruitment.