Just ahead of the first massive recruiting weekend of June for the Nebraska football team, Matt Rhule and Co. got some very bad news about one player it's been working to flip for quite a while. As it turns out, 4-star defensive back Mekhi Williams did flip from his commitment to Florida State. Unfortunately, he decided to commit to Wisconsin rather than the Cornhuskers.
Williams had announced he decommitted from Florida State earlier this week. While his commitment to the Big Ten rival is a painful one for the Huskers, it's not entirely unexpected. The defensive back out of Ruskin, Florida, announced he was no longer pledged to the Seminoles while he was on an official visit in Madison.
Making things worse for the Nebraska football program heading into a massive weekend, the Badgers are having a heck of a run. They added three commitments from this past weekend and now have their fourth heading directly into another massive weekend. Head coach Luke Fickell is on extremely thin ice heading into the 2026 season, and the last thing NU needs is for the rival coach to find his footing.
Of course, it's also possible that Fickell cementing himself with Wisconsin is a good thing, as Rhule has clearly outcoached the former Cincinnati head coach when they've faced off head-to-head.
BREAKING: 4-star S Mekhi Williams has committed to Wisconsin 🚨
— 247Sports (@247Sports) June 3, 2026
Williams is the No. 1 safety in the state of Florida pic.twitter.com/v8fMiSxbA9
Mekhi Williams choosing Wisconsin leaves Nebraska football with a June recruiting sting
Williams had been committed to Florida State for over a year, pledging to the Seminoles in March of 2025. The Badgers got into the game well after that point, offering the Florida prospect almost a year later in February 2026. But in that short time, defensive back coach Paul Haynes got the Badgers in the mix and brought him on campus during spring practices.
According to the 247Sports player rankings, Williams is the 107th-ranked player in the country, the No. 10 safety, and the No. 10 player in the state of Florida. Those numbers combine to give the bitter Nebraska rival its biggest and best commitment of the 2027 class. That the Badgers beat out the Huskers in a head-to-head battle makes it that much worse.
Williams, who attends Lennard High School in Ruskin, chose the Badgers over LSU and Nebraska. He announced his decision during a streamed broadcast on the CBS Sports College Football YouTube Channel. That the Tigers also lost the recruiting battle is a little bit of balm for an NU program that was hoping to bring in the talented defensive back.
Williams, who is 6-foot-2 and about 170 pounds, finished with 33 tackles, including 15 solos, with two interceptions and four passes defended last season, according to MaxPreps.
Nebraska might sting a bit from this recruiting loss, but the Huskers will be able to mend their broken hearts quickly. With a ton of talented prospects coming to Lincoln in the next few days, Rhule and his staff could lock down more than a few commitments.
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