How has Wisconsin done so far with their 2026 class?
The Wisconsin Badgers had a couple of major pickups in their 2026 recruiting class on the offensive side of the ball last week, landing four-star wide receiver Jayden Petit and four-star running back Amari Latimer.
With the two adds, Wisconsin has filled out a number of their positions in the cycle, so it seems like a good time to look back and evaluate how the Badgers have done so far in the class.
Did Wisconsin get its top targets? Was their approach the best one? Let’s answer all the questions with grades, starting on offense.
Quarterback: B
If this evaluation were solely on four-star Ryan Hopkins, the grade would be higher. After all, Wisconsin was early on a quarterback who should only grow in his senior year, where he’ll play at California powerhouse Mater Dei.
The Badgers did a great job with Hopkins, getting in early with West Coast schools and showing strong interest from the jump. Even with the coaching change at offensive coordinator and at quarterbacks coach, Wisconsin kept a strong connection here and landed a commitment from Hopkins.
However, this grade is only a B because Wisconsin took one quarterback in the class. Numbers at the position have been a problem for a bit now.
The Badgers overhauled the quarterback room in 2023 when Tanner Mordecai, Braedyn Locke, Nick Evers, Myles Burkett, and Marshall Howe comprised the room. However, since the mass exodus that occurred in the offseason after, the Badgers haven’t gotten back to four scholarship quarterbacks.
In 2024, Wisconsin had only Tyler Van Dyke, Braedyn Locke, and Mabrey Mettauer as scholarship quarterbacks, with the latter being a true freshman. Issues surfaced when Van Dyke went down with a torn ACL in Week 3, leading Locke to be the starter.
Not only was Locke not equipped for the role, but he was forced to play safer without any quarterback runs since Wisconsin didn’t have any depth at the position.
Then, in 2025, the Badgers are facing a similar predicament after overhauling the room once again. They had three scholarship quarterbacks entering the spring: Billy Edwards, Danny O’Neil, and Carter Smith. Yes, the transfer of Locke and the de-commitment of his younger brother, Landyn Locke changed things.
So, they added Southern Illinois transfer Hunter Simmons for depth. But, only O’Neil and Smith will carry over into 2026. That provided a prime opportunity to go for two signal-callers in the cycle, and that even seemed like Wisconsin’s plan.
They initially targeted Jarin Mock under Longo, landing a commitment there before moving on, and were involved with four-stars Brodie McWhorter and Travis Burgess before backing off on official visits for both.
The transfer portal will always be an option, but you generally have to pay a premium for quarterbacks, and Wisconsin has already gone to three transfer starters in a row.
In the current era, it’s hard to recruit two quarterbacks in a class because you want the high school recruits to stay for the long haul. But, with Wisconsin’s track record at the position, taking multiple darts in the 2026 class could’ve resulted in a better grade.
Running Back: A
Wisconsin got its top target, four-star Amari Latimer, after a long recruitment that included nearly 50 offers.
Latimer was projected to multiple different schools throughout his recruitment, but the Badgers stayed on him hard and were able to get dominoes to fall in their favor when spots filled up elsewhere.
They chose to go all-in on Latimer, and he’s the player you do that for, even if the room is a little bare with depth. Still, the depth isn’t as big of a concern to me when you consider who will be in that room in 2026.
Plus, there’s always room for a transfer if needed at running back. It would’ve been a risk if they didn’t get Latimer after canceling multiple other official visits, but the gamble paid off in a big way for Wisconsin.
Wide Receivers: A
This was another position group that had uncertainty heading into official visits. Wisconsin had a few bigger targets earlier in the cycle that pivoted elsewhere, so it wasn’t clear what the team’s board would look like in the spring.
Three-star Zachary Washington had emerged as a top option, with the Badgers seeming out on top for a part of his recruitment. Four-star Jayden Petit was the dream option on the boundary at 6’4, 195 pounds, but Wisconsin appeared like they had ground to make up heading into official visits.
The surprise of the group was four-star Zion Legree, who new wide receivers coach Jordan Reid had built a connection with. Reid had handed the wideout one of his first offers at Western Michigan.
Rather than commit during the first weekend, Washington took all of his official visits, which opened up an avenue for the speedy Legree to take a spot alongside three-star Tayshon Bardo in the Badgers’ wide receiver room.
From there, Wisconsin only focused on Petit and landed the blue-chip prospect in a big recruiting win. Once again, the Badgers stayed strong recruiting the wideout, getting a few dominoes to fall in their favor to ultimately land the four-star.
With a variety of wideouts and a blue-chip talent for Reid’s first recruiting class in Madison, this group gets an A.
Tight Ends: B-
One of Wisconsin’s top targets early in the cycle was three-star Gavin Mueller, who had camped with the Badgers last summer.
Mueller began receiving national traction, including from Colorado and LSU, before ultimately committing to the Buffaloes following his official visits in May.
Wisconsin seemed like the team to beat before fading late in the recruitment there. They were also interested in four-stars Luke Sorensen and Evan Jacobsen early on, but weren’t top teams there.
They did land early into official visits with Jack Janda and Jack Sievers, who provide two different elements at tight end, with the latter having more of a receiving profile, while the former is comfortable with his hand in the dirt.
Both are good gets, but there have been a few misses at tight end in recent cycles.
Offensive Line: B-
Wisconsin had the ability to be patient at offensive line in the 2026 class, given their success with both of the previous cycles.
But, they still went after some top recruits at the position. Four-star Evan Goodwin (SMU), three-star Marky Walbridge (Michigan), four-star Ben Nichols (Notre Dame), and three-star Jax Tanner were all priority recruits early. Three-star in-state recruit Gavin Meier was also a surprise commit to rival Minnesota.
Heading into official visits, Wisconsin was interested in a few key targets: Jalayne Miller, Kamari Blair, and Wilson Zierer. At one point, it felt like the Badgers were even leading for Miller after an official visit, but he committed to Stanford.
Blair and Zierer, on the other hand, aren’t expected to end up at Wisconsin.
The Badgers did get an early commitment from three-star Benjamin Novak before following that up with a spring commitment from three-star Maddox Cochrane. But, they also missed out on a few targets in the class, not getting another commit during official visits.
Ultimately, the 2026 class is a unique one, as the Badgers have been more selective with their targets in a weaker cycle, so they won’t likely take as many as in previous years.
Every school has missed out on top targets, but the Badgers have also come out on top with some big recruiting wins. Now, it’s on to the fall, where Wisconsin could make a move on certain recruits before National Signing Day, depending on their senior evaluations.