Wisconsin Football Misses on Big-Time In-State Recruiting Target

The Wisconsin Badgers football program missed out on one of its top-of-the-board in-state prospects. 

Four-star offensive lineman Owen Strebig, the No. 1 player in the state of Wisconsin, announced that he would continue his football and academic career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish over Miami, UW, Florida State, and USC. 

Committed to the University of Notre Dame. #GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/sMV43KEcx1

— Owen Strebig (@OwenStrebig) February 8, 2024

UW made one last push for the Catholic Memorial High School standout after he announced his commitment date, but it was not enough to sway his decision. 

According to the composite rankings, Strebig is the No. 127 player in the nation, the No. 13 OT, and the No. 1 player in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Football Misses on Four-Star In-State OL Owen Strebig

While it is disappointing to miss out on the No. 1 in-state prospect once again, the writing has been on the wall for some time now, as several recruiting experts cast Crystal Ball predictions for the Irish to land Strebig’s services at the end of January.

The Badgers were able to keep themselves in the race for some time, but at the end of the day, it’s hard to sway a Catholic school attendee away from a prestigious university like Notre Dame. 

Credit is also owed to former offensive line coach Joe Rudolph, who put in lots of work forging and maintaining a relationship with Strebig while he was at UW and kept it up when he moved over to the Irish. Jack Bicknell and new Badgers OL coach AJ Blazek put forth their best efforts as well, but it wasn’t enough. 

It’s not time to panic about in-state recruiting just yet, but missing out on Strebig is another mark on the running list of composite four-star prospects to head out of state lines. He also marks the second in-state 2025 prospect to head to Notre Dame, as Strebig is set to join the state of Wisconsin’s No. 2 prospect, James Flanigan, with the Irish.

The Wisconsin football program still has some priority in-state targets on their board, including Torin Pettaway — whom the Badgers currently hold a Crystal Ball prediction for — and Tre Poteat. How UW progresses on the in-state recruiting front will continue to be something to monitor as Luke Fickell and company continue to carve out relationships inside America’s Dairyland.

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