Tag: Class of 2026

Wisconsin football offers two of 2026’s top-ranked linebackers

Wisconsin football offers two of 2026’s top-ranked linebackers

Wisconsin extended offers to two of the class of 2026’s top-ranked linebackers on Thursday: four-stars Tristan Phillips and Cincere Johnson.

Phillips, first, is a Ventura, California native and is 247Sports’ No. 199 player in the class of 2026, No. 12 linebacker and No. 24 recruit from the state of California. Meanwhile, Johnson is from Cleveland, Ohio and is 247Sports’ No. 127 player in the class, No. 14 linebacker and No. 5 recruit from the state of Ohio.

Related: Wisconsin football 2024 spring transfer portal window tracker

Both four-star linebackers are highly pursued, even at this early stage in the 2026 recruiting process. Phillips has eight total offers, including from Washington, Arizona, Arizona State and Notre Dame. Johnson also now has eight with the addition of Wisconsin, from programs including Notre Dame, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Louisville and Kentucky.

Wisconsin has now offered both prospects early in the recruiting cycle, though may have uphill battles to land either. On3’s recruiting forecast tool gives Phillips a 29% chance to choose Cal Poly, 25% chance to choose San Diego State, 22% chance to choose Arizona and 18% to choose Notre Dame. Johnson’s is a bit more straight forward — 44% to Notre Dame, 20% to Michigan State, 17% to Cincinnati and 14% to Louisville.

Time still remains for those predictions to change as more schools enter the mix. But Wisconsin is taking a few big swings at this early stage in the 2026 cycle.

 

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Wisconsin football offers a promising 2026 wide receiver

Wisconsin football offers a promising 2026 wide receiver

Wisconsin football extended an offer to class of 2026 wide receiver Nyqir Helton on Monday.

Helton is currently unranked by 247Sports at this early stage in the 2026 cycle. He does already hold 11 offers, including from power programs Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, West Virginia and Boston College.

Related: Wisconsin football 2024 spring transfer portal window tracker

The 6’0″ 170-pound wide receiver should rise in the 2026 rankings as the cycle continues. When programs like Penn State and Wisconsin are early on the offer sheet, it usually means more recognition is soon to come.

Luke Fickell and his Wisconsin staff are continuing to work to remake the Badgers wide receiver room. The 2024 season will see former transfers start at all three positions — Will Pauling in the slot, plus Bryson Green and C.J. Williams on the outside. Wisconsin will need high school recruiting results to avoid having to rely on the portal to bolster the position. We will see what those results look like as the 2025 and 2026 cycles continue.

 

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Wisconsin football offers a fast-rising class of 2026 tight end

Wisconsin football offers a fast-rising class of 2026 tight end

Wisconsin football extended an offer to class of 2026 tight end Landed Miree on Saturday.

Miree is currently unranked on 247Sports, as is the case with most of the class of 2026. He already holds offers from major schools including Indiana, Cincinnati, Illinois, Kentucky and West Virginia at this early stage in the cycle — potentially signaling a fast rise once the 2026 cycle heats up.

Related: Evaluating the Big Ten’s next targets for conference expansion

Wisconsin is prioritizing the tight end position in the class, with offers already out to several at the position including top-ranked Brock Harris. Luke Fickell and his staff are working to cater the roster to the strengths of Phil Longo and Mike Tressel’s respective systems. A new approach at the tight-end position is a clear area of emphasis.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Wisconsin football offers an in-state class of 2026 offensive lineman

Wisconsin football offers an in-state class of 2026 offensive lineman

Wisconsin football extended an offer to class of 2026 offensive lineman James Thomas on Saturday.

Thomas is unranked on 247Sports at this early stage in the recruiting process. He also holds an offer from Arkansas.

Related: Evaluating the Big Ten’s next targets for conference expansion

The Oak Creek, Wisconsin native could become one of the state’s highest-touted recruits in the 2026 cycle. It will be another full calendar year before that cycle heats up, but Thomas could become an important piece of Wisconsin’s class if all continues to progress.

The Badgers class of 2025 currently ranks No. 17 in the nation with seven players committed. The 2025 and 2026 cycles will be important ones for Luke Fickell as he continues to build his program at Wisconsin.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Wisconsin football offers a class of 2026 running back

Wisconsin football offers a class of 2026 running back

Wisconsin football extended an offer to class of 2026 running back Davis Penn on Saturday.

Penn is currently unranked by 247Sports, as is the case with nearly every class of 2026 prospect. He does currently hold additional offers from Texas State and Toledo.

Related: Evaluating the Big Ten’s next targets for conference expansion

The 5’9″ running back is still working to gain traction with the 2026 cycle still a ways away. A running back getting an offer from Wisconsin usually means there is more soon to come.

The Badgers are making strong efforts in the 2026 cycle — recently sending several offers after a busy weekend of unofficial visits. The 2025 cycle is the current focus, but progress in the future cycles is necessary as Luke Fickell works to establish his Wisconsin program.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Wisconsin football offers a class of 2026 tight end

Wisconsin football offers a class of 2026 tight end

Wisconsin football extended an offer to class of 2026 tight end Adam Gehm on Saturday.

Gehm is currently unranked on 247Sports. The Badgers are the Pennsylvania native’s second collegiate offer, joining Miami (OH).

Related: Evaluating the Big Ten’s next targets for conference expansion

The 6’5″ tight end recently posted visits at Penn State, Florida, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. He also has one upcoming at Michigan State. While the offer sheet may be empty at the moment, Gehm is getting plenty of interest from power programs.

The tight end position should be a priority for Wisconsin in the upcoming recruiting cycles. The current depth at the position is minimal — though an infusion of talent is on the way, first with top-ranked 2024 tight end Grant Stec.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Class of 2026 cornerback visits UNC Thursday

Could a Class of 2026 cornerback don Carolina Blue for his collegiate football career?

There has never been a shortage of offense on the UNC football team, especially in recent years with the likes of Sam Howell, Drake Maye, Omarion Hampton and Josh Downs.

The same can’t be said on the defensive side of the ball.

Last year, North Carolina’s defensive struggles were highlighted by consecutive losses to UVA and Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels started the season pretty solid on defense, most notably with a 9-sack performance against South Carolina, but faltered after the Miami (FL) game.

Several UNC defensive players have already transferred out, leaving the most underperforming unit even more thin, but some good news arrived on campus Thursday.

Demari Clemons, a 3-star cornerback (according to his X account) from Buffalo, NY, took an official visit and spent time at football practice on Thursday.

Clemons has already shown a penchant for tackling and finding the ball in his first two varsity seasons, recording 80 tackles and picking off four passes. These numbers would fit in well on North Carolina – last season, no defensive back had more than 64 tackles or three interceptions.

If UNC truly wants Clemons, it has some convincing to do. His 247Sports recruiting page say he holds offers from Boston College, Buffalo, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia.

Based on his social media earlier, it’s fair to say Clemons is interested in becoming a Tar Heels.

Let’s hope that’s a 2-way street.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Wisconsin first D-1 program to offer class of 2026 edge defender

Wisconsin first D-1 program to offer class of 2026 edge defender

Wisconsin football extended an offer to class of 2026 edge defender Tucker Ashford Tuesday evening.

The Badgers are Ashford’s first D-1 offer according to 247Sports. The Texas native is currently unranked on the recruiting service, though the 2026 recruiting cycle is still in its infancy.

Related: Pre-spring bold predictions for the 2024 Big Ten football season

Wisconsin now has 70 reported offers in the class of 2026. The 2025 cycle is just beginning to heat up with the summer months fast approaching, meaning it’ll be another year at least until many of the 2026 prospects verbally commit.

The 2025 and 2026 cycles are important for Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell as he continues to work to craft his program. The Badgers impressively finished the 2024 cycle at No. 25 in the nation with a blue chip ratio of 50%. Fickell will need to keep up those marks in 2025 and 2026 for the Badgers to start sniffing the top of the Big Ten.

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Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

Penn State focuses attention on elite class of 2026 offensive lineman

Penn State is already focusing on the offensive line depth in the Class of 2026.

While the majority of recruiting focus is on the current 2025 class, it’s never too early for programs around the country to start developing relationships with players in the later classes as well.

That’s what Penn State and offensive line coach [autotag]Phil Trautwein[/autotag] is doing with a specific class of 2026 offensive line prospect.

[autotag]Darius Gray[/autotag] is a 6’3″ 285-pounder from Richmond, VA.

Because it’s so early in their recruiting process, only On3 and Rivals have rankings for him at the moment, but both list him as a four-star and inside the top-100 of the class.

With the depth that the Nittany Lions have been able to accumulate in their offensive line room, they can afford the luxury of looking ahead and handpicking some of their favorite targets.

Gray has already been to campus twice before and has told Ryan Snyder of On3 that he will be back again in March. As expected, Trautwein is a big reason for his interest in the program with the prospect telling Synder that he likes the temperament of the coach, while also thinking he does a great job on the field with development (subscription required).

The Richmond native figures to be a highly-sought after recruit in his class, already racking up around 30 scholarship offers from programs around the country before his junior season of high school.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Penn State with the third-best chance of landing a commitment from Gray with a 12.3% chance. South Carolina leads the way at 32.1% and North Carolina is second with a 14.4% chance.

Again, it’s very early in the process, but the Nittany Lions are positioning themselves well to land one of the top lineman in the class of 2026.

Penn State extends offer to Class of 2026 offensive lineman Carter Scruggs

Penn State is hoping to get ahead of Virginia Tech in the recruiting process for this Virginia-based offensive lineman in 2026.

Penn State is just days away from officially locking in its Class of 2024 and before you know it the Class of 2025 will be signed, sealed, and delivered. That means the work on the Class of 2026 is already underway on the recruiting of the Class of 2026. Already with one commitment tucked away, Penn State is actively handing out offers to potential Nittany KLions in the Class of 2026. This weekend resulted in more offers being extended.

Among those receiving an offer was [autotag]Carter Scruggs[/autotag], an offensive tackle from Virginia who has already received a handful of offers from schools from the ACC and Big Ten. Penn State joined Indiana among the Big Ten offers extended to Scruggs (who has no relation to former Nittany Lion offensive lineman Juice Scruggs). ACC schools with offers extended include Duke, Pitt, and in-state options Virginia and Virginia Tech. Liberty, coming off an appearance in a New Years Six game and also located in Virginia, has extended an offer. West Virginia of the Big 12 (and Penn State’s season-opening opponent next fall) has also offered.

Scruggs is a 6′-6″, 270-pound offensive tackle for Loudoun County in Leesburg, VA. He does not have a rating from the recruiting outlets yet, but the offers from multiple power conference programs should suggest he is firmly on the radar and will be receiving some star ratings once the Class of 2026 rankings are expanded.

Virginia Tech is considered a favorite at the moment according to the way-too-early calculation from On3’s recruiting prediction machine. The Hokies have a 52.7% chance of receiving a commitment from Scruggs. Penn State is second on the list with a 16.3% chance.

Penn State does already have one commitment on the board for the Class of 2026. That is the top-rated in-state recruit in the Class of 2026, running back Messiah Mickens. The Harrisburg native, a four-star recruit according to three major recruiting services, committed to Penn State in August 2023.

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