As summer break slowly coms to an end, so will the Wisconsin Badgers’ football program’s opportunity to maximize their recruitment period for 2026.
In the age of the transfer portal, Head Coach Luke Fickell said it’s still home grown players that create the team’s nucleus. Although the Badgers have found success with getting such players on the recruiting trail, it hasn’t translated into on the field results yet, highlighting how essential it is for Fickell and Wisconsin to up their game when recruiting season comes around.
“We’ve got a lot of things to continue to develop in these next 39 days, but the number one most important thing I am going to stress on is leadership,” Fickell said, speaking on how highly rated recruits could bring a sense of leadership to the team.
The past couple years under Luke Fickell have definitely been unsatisfactory, going 12-13 overall and struggling to make and win bowl games.
“That's not the standard. That's not the expectation. I was not brought here thinking that’s in any way what we expect at the University of Wisconsin,” Fickell said at a Big Ten media days press conference. “But I'm not here to dwell upon last year either.”
But while the Badgers have struggled so far on the field in Fickell’s first two years, their recruiting off the field has been a bright spot.
In 2024, the Badgers nabbed several four star recruits en route to the 25th ranked recruiting class in the country.
The Badgers made several notable additions to the squad in the 2025 class, including dual-threat four star quarterback Carter Smith, the nation’s fourth ranked quarterback in the class. Although he was pursued by multiple Power 5 programs — including Michigan, where he briefly committed — Smith picked the Badgers, bringing the fanbase hope for the future. Wisconsin also landed four star linebacker and ESPN top 300 recruit Mason Posa, defensive end Nicolas Clayton and wide receiver Mason Kelley.
Overall, Wisconsin pulled in 23 commits in the 2025 cycle, good enough for the 26th ranked class in the country. They also landed the 14th ranked transfer class, featuring this fall’s starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr.
But in the 2026 cycle, Fickell and company haven’t seen the same level of success.
The Badgers have set their sights set on a high number of blue-chip recruits, but successfully bagging most of them remains a challenge. However, some highly rated prospects, including four-star receiver Jayden Petit and running back Amari Latimer, have already committed to Wisconsin.
Picking up talents like these did not come easy. Adding Petit and Latimer to the squad was a result of heavy competition with other national programs — making Wisconsin’s job to close the deal with many of these top targets more difficult than ever.
“It’s really critical and important to me in all that we do, and the way that we continue to grow, that we focus upon the traditional things that have made the University of Wisconsin football program great. And it starts with high school recruiting and it comes down to trust and respect from within our program,” Fickell explained.
Despite these confident strides ahead, momentum has slowed in recent weeks.
The 2026 recruiting class broke into the national top-35 for just a moment but found itself back into the 50s and, currently 58th overall, a sharp fall from its peak at 21st. This comes after a crucial decommitment from three-star defensive back Zachary Taylor, who flipped to TCU. This class sits at 15th in the Big Ten, one of the lowest positions in years for the Wisconsin Football program.
Uncertainty and turnover in 2026
Wisconsin’s recent struggles, culminating in a bowl game absence for the first time in 22 years, have seen the program’s hard-headed reputation dip, making it tougher to beat other attractive schools in gaining elite players and staff.
Meanwhile, the departure of general manager Max Stienecker to USC is sure to create some unrest within the Wisconsin staff. Steinecker played a key role in past recruiting success and roster construction. His departure from Wisconsin to the Trojans is a considerable setback for the Badgers, who now rely on former North Texas Director of Player Personnel Ethan Russo to fill the gap.
Lastly, an NCAA recruiting violation led to recruiting suspensions for Fickell and key assistants this summer, limiting their contact with prospects. But despite all the distractions, Wisconsin still remains an attractive school to play for.
Fickell is still a big name coach with recruiting promise. And playing at Camp Randall and Wisconsin’s electric game-day atmosphere is an appealing factor on its own, with recent recruits voicing their excitement about this program’s traditions and community. The program will undoubtedly flaunt its home atmosphere to recruits on gamedays throughout the fall.
“We understand what being a part of the Big Ten, what being a part of this conference means,” Fickell added. “In order to be at the top and to be the best, you’ve got to compete and you’ve got to beat the best. So it gives us a challenge, but an unbelievable opportunity is in front of us as well.”
Wisconsin’s summer recruiting path has been choppy, and seems to be heading towards a meek ending. A solid class has been collected, but the lack of top talent and a weak national rank leaves more to be desired. It seems to be a now-or-never situation for Fickell and Wisconsin to prove to their competitors, as well as their own fans and themselves, that they are a force to be reckoned with.
