How Wisconsin Football Stacked Up in 2024 B1G Recruiting Rankings

Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin football program put together an impressive haul on National Signing Day, securing a consensus top-25 recruiting class for the Badgers.

Of the 22 players who signed on the dotted line on NSD for the Wisconsin Badgers, nine were considered four-star prospects according to the industry-generated composite rankings. That marked a tie for the program’s highest amount of blue-chip recruits signed in a single cycle.

UW also had a surprise flip to bring an in-state product back into the fold.

Some of the Wisconsin Badgers headliners were 4-star defensive end Ernest Willor, offensive tackle Kevin Heywood, quarterback Mabrey Mettauer, cornerback Omillio Agard, and a pair of dynamic running backs Dilin Jones and Darrion Dupree.

While the Wisconsin football program’s recruiting haul was undoubtedly impressive, this was simply the first step towards rebuilding this team from the ground up. Building a contender in the new Big Ten conference will require stacking multiple classes of this magnitude.

Let’s see how the Badgers stacked up against the rest of the 18-team Big Ten.

Wisconsin Football Finishes With No. 7 Recruiting Class in the Big Ten 

Recruiting in today’s landscape has shifted significantly. National Signing Day doesn’t carry the same significance as it once did, with most of the top recruits committing during the early signing period in December.

This condensed timeline challenges coaches to juggle roster retention, navigate the transfer portal, and finalize landing their high school recruits within a short window after the season.

To say that’s difficult would be an understatement. Thankfully, Luke Fickell brought over a pair of studs, Pat Lambert and Max Stienecker, to run the Wisconsin football recruiting department and help fill that void.

Despite these pronounced challenges, Fickell and his staff pulled off an impressive recruiting cycle. The Wisconsin Badgers currently stand at No. 23 nationally and No. 7 in the Big Ten recruiting rankings.

In the context of the new Big Ten conference, here’s where Wisconsin’s recruiting class ranks among its peers:

18. Northwestern
17. UCLA
16. Indiana
15. Michigan State
14. Illinois
13. Maryland
12. Minnesota
11. Rutgers
10. Washington
9. Iowa
8. Purdue
7. Wisconsin
6. Nebraska
5. USC
4. Michigan
3. Penn State
2. Oregon
1. Ohio State

It’s encouraging to see Wisconsin football finish in the top half, and even though it’s been a small sample size, the Badgers seem to have some pretty good relationship builders in their recruiting department who could sustain similar finishes in the future.

The real work lies ahead, and the results on the field will soon supersede the hope recruits have been sold by the new regime.

Let’s hope this helps serve as a turning point for the Wisconsin Badgers.

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