Luke Fickell is on a real heater right now when it comes to the 2027 recruiting class. He has never recruited this well at Wisconsin, not even close. Wisconsin is listed as the No. 13 recruiting class in the nation and this is coming off a 4-8 season. Clearly, the strategy and money are both working super well. The Badgers are killing it with in-state recruiting but filling it out with some high school stars from all over the nation, including a pipeline from Arizona of all places.
What really highlights the success for Luke Fickell is the very first official visit weekend of the year. He only missed one player. Out of a full-house weekend. That's an insanely good weekend for any program. That momentum has carried him for days now, and it could shape up to be a class that shapes Wisconsin football for years to come.
Wisconsin hosted 19 recruits that first official visit weekend
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The Badgers had 19 recruits on campus for the May 29th weekend. As of now, 18 of them are Badgers. Only one got away (more on this in a minute). 13 of the recruits that came to Wisconsin that weekend were already committed to the Badgers. This has to be part of the success of the weekend. Fickell added 13 extra recruiters to his staff because of these commitments.
Those 13 were players who committed prior to the official visit and came with a goal in mind: 'Add more talent to the class.' Nine of these 13 are in-state players: Cole Reiter, Korz Loken, Kingston Allen, Hunter and Reece Mallinger, Isaac Miller, Ethan McIntosh, Keaton Wollan, and Dustin Roach. The other four were already in the fold: Jack Sorgi, Will Zaccagnino, David Hill, and DJ Davis.
Then the rest of the 19 recruits that weekend were considered top-priority recruits, one of whom was already committed elsewhere (Mekhi Williams to Florida State). One after the other, they committed to becoming Badgers.
Wisconsin added 4-star Mekhi Williams (from a flip), 4-star Jai Jones, 3-star Royalton Allen, 3-star Darin Graham, and 3-star Nathan Jones.
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Only one player decided to leave and continue looking, 3-star wide receiver Tavares Powell. He ultimately decided to commit to Kansas. He's the only player on that weekend list that doesn't have a big red "W" next to their name. Of the 19 recruits on campus that weekend, 18 are now Badgers. There's not a single other program that can claim that sort of weekend success.
Other programs may have higher-rated recruiting classes, but if you are on campus checking out Wisconsin, the first weekend of the official visit season, you're going to be a Badger. There's no other way to slice it. Luke Fickell absolutely crushed week 1, and it's the framework for a big class. There are only 20 committed players, and 18 of them came that first weekend.
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