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Wisconsin Football: Takeaways From Luke Fickell’s Recruiting Thus Far

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Wisconsin football head coach Luke Fickell

How has Wisconsin football done in recruiting under Luke Fickell thus far?

Madison, Wis. – Wisconsin’s athletic director Chris McIntosh made one of the most significant moves in the nation when he hired Luke Fickell as the new Wisconsin football head coach on November 28th, 2022.

Since the hire, Fickell has put on a masterclass in recruiting. Fickell has secured four high-school recruits and five transfer portal additions in just over a month. He shows no signs of stopping, as two transfer wide receivers, CJ Williams and Quincy Burroughs, are on visits this weekend.

The Fickell era has already brought plenty of excitement. With that said, here are some of the biggest takeaways in Fickell’s recruiting thus far.

Luke Fickell: The QB Whisperer

Since Graham Mertz departed from the program, fans have raised questions about who would be the new signal caller in 2023. Those questions were answered in Fickell’s short tenure and then some.

Three quarterbacks have committed to Wisconsin since Fickell took over. Those QBs include four-star recruit Mabrey Mettauer, Oklahoma transfer Nick Evers, and SMU transfer Tanner Mordecai. Each signal-caller brings unique abilities, giving Wisconsin’s quarterback room plenty of versatility.

With the excellent QBs committed, UW is looking at a deep quarterback room in 2023. It’s unknown who will step up to be the starter next season, but every quarterback in the room has the tools to become QB1 and make a significant impact in the air raid offense.

Defensive backs have been a point of emphasis for Wisconsin football recruiting

The Badgers faced a unique situation following the 2022 season. Starting cornerbacks Jay Shaw and Cedrick Dort II came in as graduate transfers and finished their college careers in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl game. Since both CBs will declare for the NFL Draft, UW faces a predicament without their two starting corners for the 2023 season.

However, Fickell found intriguing prospects through high school commitments and transfer portal additions. Fickell has put together a formidable group of young talent with commitments from four-star athlete/safety Braedyn Moore, four-star CB Amare Snowden, and three-star corner Jonas Duclona. It doesn’t stop there, though, as Boston College transfer Jason Maitre committed to Wisconsin last week.

Fickell has put together an excellent group of defensive backs who have the tools to make an impact on day one. With the youth in the defensive talent, it will be interesting to see which players can climb their way up the depth chart and get the starting nod.

Let Fickell cook in the transfer portal

There have been some exciting high school recruits Fickell has secured. However, the transfer portal is where he has made the biggest moves.

According to 247Sports, the five transfer portal additions land UW with the 25th-ranked transfer class in the nation. As stated before, there are multiple recruits on campus this weekend. If Fickell can secure commitments from Williams and Burroughs, Wisconsin will continue to climb the transfer rankings.

Fickell has stated that he doesn’t want UW to be known as a transfer program. However, his additions through the transfer portal have been valuable. If Fickell can continue to use his reach and secure team needs through the portal, Wisconsin football can build something special for years to come.


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Wisconsin Football Lands 2024 Three-Star Interior Offensive Lineman

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Madison, Wis. – The Wisconsin football program has picked up its fourth commit in the last three days, with three-star offensive lineman Ryan Cory coming on board.

The news comes just an hour after four-star OT Kevin Heywood announced his commitment to Wisconsin. 

Cory took to Twitter to announce his commitment.

Wisconsin beat out offers from Pitt, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, Oregon, Rutgers, and many more. Cory was set to visit Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt in the coming weeks. 

According to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, Cory is the No. 778 player in the nation, the No. 50 interior offensive lineman, and the No. 24 player in Pennsylvania.

What Ryan Cory brings to the Wisconsin football program

Cory is coming off a remarkable junior season. The 6-foot-4, 290-pound lineman received First-Team All-Conference honors and earned a state championship win.

Looking at his film, there’s a lot to like about his upside. Cory is fearless in creating contact against defenders at the second level while putting out some key blocks for his tailback. His hand speed and placement also stand out.

In pass-blocking reps, the 6-foot-4, 290-pound lineman is a brick wall. Cory can easily contain power moves from opposing linemen with his strength. He rarely gets off balance and consistently creates leverage against defenders. 

Cory will be an excellent depth piece for the offensive line while he works on his craft. If the Pennsylvania native can refine his technique a bit more, he could be an impactful lineman for Wisconsin.

Cory joins Kevin Heywood and Derek Jensen as linemen to commit to UW. The Wisconsin football program now holds 12 commitments in the 2024 cycle.


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Wisconsin Football Lands 2024 Four-Star Offensive Lineman Commit

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Wisconsin football stadium: Camp Randall
Sep 10, 2022; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers mascot Bucky Badger prior to the game against the Washington State Cougars at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Madison, Wis. – The Wisconsin football program has picked up a commitment from one of the nation’s premier offensive linemen.

Four-star OT Kevin Heywood took to Twitter to announce his commitment to Wisconsin.

UW beat out offers from some juggernaut programs, including Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, Michigan, USC, and many more.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Heywood is the No. 266 player in the nation, the No. 25 OT, and the No. 5 player in Pennsylvania.

The four-star prospect began his official visit to Wisconsin on June 2nd. He was slated to take officials to Kentucky, Auburn, and USC in the coming weeks. Instead, Heywood decided to commit to the Wisconsin football program on the same weekend.

The Badgers missed out on multiple in-state offensive linemen to Penn State early in the 2024 cycle. Because of that, securing multiple offensive linemen quickly became a priority for UW, and they were able to poach a top player out of Pennsylvania.

What Kevin Heywood brings to the Wisconsin football program

The first thing that jumps out for Heywood is his frame. Standing at 6-foot-7, 280-pound, Heywood stands out in his class, and he uses his size well. He consistently gets his hands at pad level and is able to drive defenders off of the line of scrimmage.

The Pennsylvania native thrives in pass pro. With his size, he’s a brick wall on the offensive front who can easily stop rushers in their tracks.

Heywood is a prototypical Wisconsin offensive lineman. His skill set could make him an immediate difference-maker on UW’s offensive front.

With the commitment, the Wisconsin football program holds 11 commits in the 2024 cycle. Heywood joins in-state OT Derek Jensen as the sole offensive line commits in the 2024 cycle.


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Breaking Down the Wisconsin Badgers Newest 2024 Defensive Line Commit

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Wisconsin Football defensive line commit Hank Weber

Wisconsin Football Lands Commitment From 2024 DL Hank Weber

Madison, Wis. — In need of a serious revamping of the defensive line, the Wisconsin football coaching staff knew these next couple of weekends would be huge for the future of the defense. 

The first domino of that DL revamp fell on Monday when the Badgers received a verbal commitment from 2024 three-star defensive lineman Hank Weber out of Brentwood, Tennesee, following an official visit to Madison this past weekend. 

According to 247Sports, Weber is the No. 99 DL in the country and the No. 37 player in Tennessee. The three-star recruit chose Wisconsin over offers from North Carolina, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Purdue, Virginia Tech, and several others. 

“Wisconsin had everything that I was looking for in a college and program,” Weber said. “The defense that coach Mike Tressel runs was appealing because of how aggressive it is. And I’ve been told that coach Fickell sometimes likes to lead the defensive line meetings. That was a huge deal for me.”

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound defensive prospect is Greg Scruggs’ first commit in the 2024 recruiting cycle. 

Scouting Report

Hank Weber is, by my evaluation, a solid but unspectacular prospect. That’s not to say I’m writing him off, though. 

Although his pad level and ability to get off the ball were underwhelming, his pursuit and technique after the snap stood out. There is an undeniable blend of length and power as a pass-rusher that you love to see, and he strikes me as the type of assignment-sound player that could develop into a reliable starter with some time to fill out his frame. 

One thing I love about Weber is that he also plays offensive line, so he’s got a tenacity and motor about him that is a must-have in a defensive line prospect. 

Overall, I think Weber was a solid get, and for a re-tooling defensive line, he’s a solid start to what should be a large class of recruits at the position. I’ll like this commit even better if he’s paired with someone that has more pass-rushing upside.

The Impact of Hank Weber Joining the Wisconsin Football Program 

Vernon Woodward is commitment No. 10 for the Wisconsin football program in the 2024 recruiting cycle, joining Mabrey Mettauer, Grant Stec, Robert Booker, Derek Jensen, Thomas Heiberger, Landon Gauthier, Kyan Berry-Johnson, Kahmir Prescott, and Vernon Woodward.

With his addition, UW now has the No. 21 recruiting class in the country, per 247Sports.


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.

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