Tag: wisconsin football recruiting

Wisconsin class of 2025 commit surprisingly flips to rival Minnesota

Wisconsin football recruit flips commitment to Big Ten rival

Wisconsin football class of 2025 commit Torin Pettaway decommitted from the Badgers and flipped to bitter rival Minnesota on Thursday night.

The in-state defensive lineman committed to join the Badgers on March 7. His change of heart and move to rival Minnesota seems to have taken many in the industry by surprise.

Pettaway is the No. 653 player in the class of 2025, the No. 63 defensive lineman and the No. 5 recruit from the state of Wisconsin.

His decommitment leaves Wisconsin’s class of 2025 with eight  commitments. The group also fell to No. 11 nationally with the news.

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound athlete and junior at Middleton High School will be yet another in-state recruit to commit to play elsewhere — a troubling trend under both former coach Paul Chryst and current coach Luke Fickell.

 

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Wisconsin offers impressive edge rusher from Maryland

Badgers offer impressive edge rusher from Maryland

The Wisconsin Badgers football team offered Zion Elee, a class of 2026 edge rusher from Joppa, Maryland, on Tuesday. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound athlete is a sophomore at Joppatowne High School and he still has two years before he’d make the jump to the collegiate level.

Even though he’s still so far away, Elee has now received four Division 1 offers, including his home-state program Maryland, as well as Tennessee and South Carolina.

Elee possesses great overall size, fitting the mold of the type of player that head coach Luke Fickell and defensive coordinator Mike Tressel want to add to their team down the road.

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Wisconsin is first program to offer edge rusher from Texas

Wisconsin is first program to offer edge rusher from Texas

The Wisconsin Badgers football team extended a scholarship offer to Tucker Ashford, a class of 2026 edge rusher from North Richland Hills, Texas, on Tuesday.

Ashford is a sophomore at Fort Worth Christian School and the Badgers became the first collegiate program to offer him, but considering the fact that he’s 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, many more programs will likely follow.

After a disappointing 2023 campaign, Wisconsin seems to be interested in some of the bigger-bodied defensive options in the class of 2026, offering three edge rushers on Tuesday. Along with Ashford, they also offered Landon Bland (6-foot-4, 220-pounder) and Zion Elee (6-foot-5, 225-pounder).

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Wisconsin offers class of 2026 edge rusher from Missouri

Badgers offer class of 2026 edge rusher from Missouri

The Wisconsin Badgers offered Landon Bland, a class of 2026 edge rusher from Carthage, Missouri, on Tuesday. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound athlete is a sophomore at Carthage High School and he’ll have two more years of high school football before he’d potentially make the leap to the college level.

Although his college decision is far down the road, Wisconsin became the first program to offer Bland, which is somewhat surprising considering his proximity to other programs.

In 2023, the Badgers had a disappointing campaign by their standards, finishing 7-6 overall with some uncharacteristic play from their defense in particular.

Bland is a prototype big linebacker/edge and he’s the exact type of player that has excelled under head coach Luke Fickell in the past.

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Badgers offer class of 2025 running back from Tennessee

Badgers offer class of 2025 running back from Tennessee

The Wisconsin Badgers football team offered class of 2025 running back Shekai Mills-Knight from Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Tuesday. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound athlete is a junior at Baylor School and he’ll have one more year of high school football before he’d potentially make the leap to the collegiate level.

Although Mills-Knight doesn’t have an official star designation from 247Sports, he has now received 15 Division 1 offers, including Michigan State, Oregon and Wisconsin within the Big Ten.

Considering his impressive size, the running back figures to garner attention from some more programs as his official signing day is still many months away, but Wisconsin has as high of a chance as anyone to land Mills-Knight in 2025.

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Wisconsin included in final five programs for three-star O-lineman

Badgers recruit set to announce his college decision Monday

The Wisconsin Badgers football team was included in the top five programs of three-star offensive guard Joshua Williams, who plans to announce his commitment on Monday.

Williams is from Haverford, Pennsylvania and is a member of the class of 2025. Wisconsin is among four Big Ten schools (Michigan, Penn State Rutgers) and Stanford in his final process.

Considering his proximity to Penn State, in his home state, it should be considered a favorite. Rivals.com has Stanford as its favorite to land his talents in 2025. The Badgers will have a shot at earning his commitment Monday at 4 p.m. CT.

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Badgers offer three-star athlete from rival state

Badgers offer three-star athlete from rival state

Wisconsin offered Emmanuel Karmo, a three-star class of 2025 athlete from Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Wednesday. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound player still has one more year of football at Robbinsdale Cooper High School before he’d potentially make the leap to the collegiate level.

Karmo has now received 16 Division 1 offers, including 10 offers from within the Big Ten. The athlete has played both sides of the ball as a linebacker as well as a wide receiver, making him an intriguing option for college programs.

Wisconsin is competing with some of the top programs in the country like Ohio State, Oregon and USC, so they’ll have their work cut out for them in securing Karmo’s commitment.

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Wisconsin offers three-star athlete from IMG Academy

Wisconsin offers three-star athlete from IMG Academy

The Badgers offered Kaden Strayhorn, a three-star class of 2025 interior offensive lineman from Bradenton, Florida, on Monday. The 6-foot-3, 285-pound player still has one more year at IMG Academy before he’d look to make the jump to the college game.

Strayhorn is originally from Detroit, but he transferred IMG in 2022 and he’s now received 23 Division 1 offers, including Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and Ohio State. Wisconsin will have their work cut out for them in acquiring his talents in 2025.

The athlete projects as a center, and considering the Badgers’ starter from 2023, Tanor Bortolini, has moved on to the NFL and Jake Renfro, their current expected starter for 2024, is a redshirt senior, he could be a valuable addition.

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Badgers offer four-star quarterback from Florida

Badgers offer four-star quarterback from Florida

Wisconsin offered Will Griffin, a four-star class of 2026 quarterback from Tampa, Florida, on Monday. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound athlete still has two more years at Jesuit High School before he’d potentially make the leap to the collegiate level.

Although he’s still so far out from making his college debut, Griffin has already received 24 Division 1 offers, including five offers from within the Big Ten. With programs like Ohio State, Michigan and Oregon interested, Wisconsin has some competition within their conference.

Griffin is just the second quarterback that the Badgers have offered for 2026 so far, joining fellow Florida native Dia Bell (Fort Lauderdale, FL).

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Wisconsin offers hometown three-star defensive lineman

Wisconsin offers hometown three-star defensive lineman

The Badgers offered Torin Pettaway, a three-star class of 2025 defensive lineman from Middleton, Wisconsin, on Saturday. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound athlete still has one more year at Middleton High School before he’d potentially look to play college football.

Pettaway has now received four Division 1 offers, all of which have come from teams within the Big Ten (Minnesota, Nebraska, USC and Wisconsin). Pettaway also has experience playing basketball as well, so he may possess a unique set of skills for a player at his position.

Considering his proximity to Madison, the Badgers can be considered a favorite to land the defensive lineman in 2025, though he’ll likely receive many more offers in the coming months.

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