Wisconsin Badger football has finally found its groove in something that it hasn't in a long time: recruiting. After years where the Badgers could barely buy a single four-star recruit or top transfer portal target, it seems as if they can now land some of the top guys depending on the position. This success will, of course, mean good things for the team itself, as bringing in more talent typically directly equates to bringing in more wins.
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However, another underlying story that could develop from this success is the added job security for head coach Luke Fickell. It's no secret that Fickell is now on the hot seat entering his fourth full season as the Badgers' coach, as his success thus far with the team has been far from adequate.
Fickell has had just one winning season since joining the program, his first, and has still yet to hold an AP Top 25 ranking outside of the first two weeks of a given season. Because of this, the water around him has begun to heat up, forcing him to turn a real corner with the program if he wishes to stay in Madison long term.
Fickell has, of course, proven that he can achieve success at the highest level in the past, as he was the head coach of the first-ever non-Power Five school to compete in the College Football Playoff. Maintaining that success in the Big Ten is no easy task, but there is no doubt that Fickell has been heading down the wrong path.
Looking Ahead
Now, with this recent recruiting success, Wisconsin may be more incentivized to keep him around for a few more years, seeing if this influx of talent will pay dividends to on-field success. Whether this is the right way of going about things or not remains to be seen, but nobody is going to dispute the fact that the Badgers will be better off bringing in as much talent as possible.
At the end of the day, Fickell's time will likely be up if Wisconsin fails to see any success this season, as odds are another four- or five-win year won't be outweighed by any success he has as a recruiter. That said, if Fickell can push his team in the right direction next season while continuing to build a strong recruiting climate, then the Badgers will have no choice but to invest in his plans going forward.
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