Wisconsin Football Makes Cut for 4-Star WR, In-State LB Visiting, More

It’s been a busy couple of days for the Wisconsin football program, ladies and gents, but fear not because BadgerNotes can help get you back up to speed with a roundup of some important news you may have missed.

Wisconsin Badgers Make the Cut for 4-Star WR 

The momentum for Wisconsin football on the recruiting trail continued last week when the Badgers made the cut for another four-star talent in the 2024 recruiting class. 

This past week, four-star wide receiver Jerrae Hawkins out of Bradenton, Florida, released a top six list of Floria, West Virginia, Louisville, Miami, Penn State, and Wisconsin.  

Recruitment still 100% open !! pic.twitter.com/kbgTUA3DLr

— Jerrae “Tank” Hawkins Jr 💫 (@Tankk_1k) March 13, 2023

According to the 247Sports composite, Hawkins is the No. 177 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, the No. 28 WR in the country, and the No. 26 player in Florida.

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound pass catcher is an absolute burner out of the slot and caught 67 passes for 1,173 yards and 14 touchdowns this past season at the decorated IMG Academy.  

You can watch his HUDL film here.

Hawkins already has an established relationship with Luke Fickell and his coaching staff since he was the head coach at Cincinnati – and offered him a scholarship in January, shortly after taking over the Wisconsin football program. 

Wide receivers coach Mike Brown is actively working on getting Hawkins up to Wisconsin for an official visit. 

Wisconsin Football Will Get 2025 LB on Campus for Another Visit 

Wisconsin football has several high-priority targets in the 2025 recruiting class in their backyard, perhaps none more significant than Cooper Catalano out of Germantown. 

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound linebacker, who currently holds offers from Wisconsin, Illinois, and Kansas, registered 147 tackles, 19 TFLs, three forced fumbles, two sacks, and an interception as a sophomore, according to WisSports.net. 

You can watch his HUDL film here.

Already having visited UW in January for a junior day (he was the only sophomore), Catalano will return to Madison again on April 1. 

The in-state linebacker has been a high-priority target since the last regime; from what I’ve heard, he’s high on the Wisconsin football program and its new direction. 

Other Wisconsin Football News

Already having a committed quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class (Mabrey Mettauer), the Wisconsin football coaching staff is getting a jump start on the 2025 cycle. 

This past week, UW hosted 2025 QB Jacob Bell from Naperville North High School in Illinois on an unofficial visit where he met with Luke Fickell and Phil Longo. 

“I love Coach Fickell and what he’s done at Wisconsin,” Bell told BadgerBlitz. “He seems like an open-minded coach who works to get the players what they need to be successful.” 

7-2 Sophomore Regular Season QB Highlights. We aren’t done yet. Playoff time! @HuskieFB vs Marist 10.28.22 @PRZJordan @EDGYTIM @BlairRIVALS @thesouc https://t.co/C7oiR2yRvv

— Jacob Bell (@JacobBell_2) October 23, 2022

Bell, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound prospect sat behind three-star Northwestern commit Aidan Gray during his sophomore season, but he’s already catching the attention of several Power 5 programs. 

Illinois, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Kansas, Iowa, and Purdue have all expressed interest in Bell, and he’s certainly a name to monitor in the 2025 recruiting class this fall once he’s able to put more on tape.

Contact/Follow us @Badger_Notes on Twitter, Subscribe to the BadgerNotes Newsletter here, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, opinion, and analysis. You can also follow Dillon Graff on Twitter @DillonGraff.

Join the Badger Notes watch party and stream Wisconsin Badgers games by following this link.

*Subscribe to Locked on Badgers on Youtube and wherever you find podcasts, the only daily Wisconsin Badgers podcast on the internet.