Luke Fickell completes the in-state sweep with No. 1 player in Wisconsin

After Wisconsin landed Hunter and Reece Mallinger a couple of days ago, the talk around the Badgers and the 2027 recruiting class was that there was one in-state player left. It only took a few days for Luke Fickell to complete the sweep by landing the top player in the state. 4-star running back Kingston Allen from Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

The Badgers have now landed eight players in the 2027 class, and all eight are from the state of Wisconsin. It's one of the most complete "build a wall around the state" recruiting hauls in a long time. Something has changed in the water overnight to keep the best players from Wisconsin in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin's No. 1 player, Kingston Allen, has committed to be a Badger

Related: Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame opening line already puts a dark cloud over Luke Fickell

Allen is one of the most dynamic running backs, not just in the state but in the country. He ran for 3,436 yards and had 57 touchdowns in his junior season. He exploded onto the scene and went from a player no one knew much about to the top player in Wisconsin. Allen picked up a ton of interest and offers in the process, but the one that ultimately mattered the most was the Badgers.

Luke Fickell and his staff now have the No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, and 10th-best players in the 2027 recruiting class out of Wisconsin, according to 24/7 Sports. That's an insane haul for any program to keep that many in-state players home. And yet, Fickell has been able to do this without yet showing the results on the field. He's somehow got the in-state kids to buy into the vision and that they can be part of the solution to fix the last few years of bad football.

Adding Allen basically completes the sweep for the state, and now Fickell and his staff can turn their attention to out-of-state kids. This is huge news from the program, and for the first time in years, it feels like things are finally turning back in the right direction.