The Wisconsin football program isn’t mentioned with the Ohio States, Alabamas and Clemsons of the world when it comes to recruiting.
The program knows what it does well, that being recruiting in the midwest and finding fits for the scheme and culture of the school.
But even so, we have seen the Badgers extend to nearly every region of the country to find talent. And even if some of the program’s best players were transfers (Russell Wilson, J.J. Watt), walk-ons (Jim Leonhard) and unheralded recruits (Jonathan Taylor), there have still been some big-time recruits in the program’s history.
With the traditional National Signing Day now behind us for the class of 2021, we thought it would be valuable to go back in the 247Sports Composite of all-time recruits and find the best recruit Wisconsin has landed from every state. The players had to join the Badger football program after committing, so there were a few names from Utah that were not eligible for the list. We are including, however, the players from the school’s incoming class that have signed their letter of intent.
Before we get started, there are 29 states represented here including the District of Columbia, meaning there are 22 that aren’t. The states you won’t see on this list: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
So, here is the best recruit Wisconsin has landed from every state since 2000: