Luke Fickell picked up his first defensive line recruit for the 2027 yesterday when Wisconsin received a commitment from Will Zaccagnino. Today, another one is on the board with 3-star David Hill, who is already built like a college defensive lineman at 6'3 and 300 pounds. He's a massive player and fits perfectly the body type that Fickell loves to recruit in the trenches.
Fickell, the last couple of years, has essentially only been bringing in defensive linemen who either already weigh over 300 pounds or are capable of it with a college workout and dietary plan. Both of these latest recruits fit the bill. And it continues the momentum for Fickell and Wisconsin with their top-15 recruiting class. 24/7 Sports has the class No. 12 in the nation.
BREAKING: Class of 2027 DL David Hill has Committed to Wisconsin, he tells me for @Rivals⁰⁰The 6’3 300 DL chose the Badgers over Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 1, 2026
“Beyond blessed, ready to work #OnWisconsin”https://t.co/1axRv71ncU pic.twitter.com/8e6saMVO3R
3-star DL David Hill has committed to Wisconsin and Luke Fickell
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It's really two big recruiting wins in a row for defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow, who was the primary recruiter for both Hill and Zaccagnino. Whitlow beat out Cal, Illinois, Purdue, Cincinnati, and many others (Hill had 19 offers).
Hill has an official visit date locked up to come to Madison for June 5th, but decided to make his pledge about a month early. It's a good sign for the Badgers, and the commitment of more money towards the football program seems to be a real thing. There was some wondering if the in-state recruiting wins were purely because of focus or if there was actually more money in Fickell's pocket.
Until the results came in from out-of-state recruiting, it would be hard to tell, yet securing Hill over many other big programs chasing him down is a good sign that Fickell isn't going to let the recruiting train stop even after landing all the top players in-state.
This is a big win for Wisconsin recruiting, and the 2027 class is still building, climbing, and adding more and more players.
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