Wisconsin top class of 2025 defensive line target Kade Pietrzak committed to Big Ten rival Nebraska on Sunday.
The Badgers were in the four-star recruit’s final four schools along with the Cornhuskers, Oklahoma Sooners and Kansas State Wildcats.
Related: Full recap of power rankings for every Big Ten football position group entering 2024 season
Pietrzak is ranked as 247Sports’ No. 321 player in the class of 2025, No. 35 defensive lineman and No. 1 recruit from his home state of North Dakota. He chooses Nebraska after taking official visits to each of his four finalists: Wisconsin on May 31, Oklahoma on June 7, Nebraska on June 14 and Kansas State on June 21.
His choice of Nebraska comes as somewhat of a surprise after 247Sports had initially logged a crystal ball for him to choose Oklahoma. Oklahoma insider Collin Kennedy switched his prediction to Nebraska on Saturday afternoon, one day before Pietrzak announced his decision.
COMMITED‼️🏠@HuskerFootball @CoachMattRhule @Coach_Knighton @HuskerCoachTW
#GBR pic.twitter.com/SAXF1FOQ2J— Kade Pietrzak (@KadePietrzak) July 21, 2024
Nebraska’s class of 2025 rises to No. 30 in the nation after adding the four-star defensive lineman. He is the program’s 17th commit in the class — the fifth from a blue-chip player.
Wisconsin’s class of 2025, meanwhile, currently ranks No. 21 in the nation with 22 players committed — five of them blue-chip players.
The two classes create an interesting comparison as the Luke Fickell era at Wisconsin and Matt Rhule era at Nebraska each enter their second years. The two programs will be directly compared for as long as the two head coaches are in place, that comparison beginning on the recruiting trail.
Wisconsin is 1-0 in the head-to-head series since the two coaches were hired. The Badgers will look to extend that streak in 2024 when the two meet on Nov. 23.
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