Wisconsin football enters the new age of the Big Ten needing to re-establish itself among college football’s top programs.
The program has been in a slide since nearly capturing the Big Ten title in 2019. The Paul Chryst era ended with a 4-3 record in 2020, a 9-4 season in 2021 and a rocky start to 2022. Former defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard then led the Badgers to what became a 7-6 finish to the 2022 season, before Luke Fickell took over entering 2023 — which also finished with an identical 7-6 record.
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The path back toward the top of the Big Ten will be a challenge for the Badgers. Fickell and his staff must establish the team’s new identity, and compile recruiting classes that can compete amongst the conference’s elites.
That last part is the biggest question. Wisconsin has always done pretty well on the recruiting trail but never could break through with a top-10 class. As we have discussed, the all-important blue-chip ratio of 50% is a mark the program has only reached once — Fickell’s 2024 class. There is hope that the new regime can take the program’s recruiting success from 2019-2021 and extend that into the future. Early returns are certainly promising after the program’s aforementioned top-25 finish in the 2024 cycle and solid start to 2025. But while the outlook is positive, perennial classes within the nation’s top 15 and top 10 still seem tough to attain.
Top 10 classes are not possible without some of 247Sports’ top-rated recruits. While Wisconsin has landed some of those players in the past, it has not done so with regularity. Plus the top-ranked players are often in-state offensive tackles and rarely play elsewhere.
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For proof, here is an updated ranking of Wisconsin’s 25 all-time highest-rated commitments according to 247Sports’ composite rating:
(Note: this ranking is…
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