Luke Fickell and Wisconsin football didn't have the best day yesterday. It was tough to watch two targets decide to play football elsewhere on the same day within hours of each other. While Fickell and staff are having a great start to the 2026 football recruiting class, yesterday wasn't ideal. Especially with a top DL target choosing another Big Ten rival.
The biggest miss yesterday was defensive lineman King Liggins, who projects to be a monster in the Big Ten at 6'4" and 285 lbs. He narrowed his list all the way down to two: The Illinois Fighting Illini and the Wisconsin Badgers. He decided to stay home and play for Illinois.
3-star DL King Liggins picked Illinois over Wisconsin
BREAKING: Class of 2026 DL King Liggins has Committed to Illinois, he tells me for @on3recruits
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 21, 2025
The 6’4 285 DL from Chicago, IL chose the Fighting Illini over Wisconsin
“I want to make history and leave a legacy at Illinois.”https://t.co/uRw8PS6TXN pic.twitter.com/3HgbU0IyQw
3-star LB Mason Marden picked Arizona State over Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Michigan State
The other swing and miss was 3-star Mason Marden, who narrowed his list to five schools and ultimately picked Arizona State. This one many could see coming from a mile away because he only visited one of those five schools—guess which one? He had a visit scheduled to Wisconsin for June but decided after his visit to the Sun Devils to cancel the other visits and play in the desert.
BREAKING: Class of 2026 3 ⭐️ LB Mason Marden ( @Mason_Marden ) has committed to Arizona State he tells me.
— Steezo (@SteezoDsgn) May 21, 2025
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Mason Marden is a 6’3 (225 LBS) Linebacker out of St. Louis, MO. Mason has a total of 21 offers but ultimately chose Arizona State over his finalists of Oklahoma, Kansas,… pic.twitter.com/jYTUpKbRHC
This may not have been Wisconsin's priority linebacker target, as they have already landed one, with Aden Reeder recently committing. They also recently began chasing down in-state product Ben Wenzel. Luke Fickell has other priorities at the linebacker position, so having Marden would have been more of a luxury than a need.
Liggins, on the other hand, is the tougher miss. Wisconsin football's priority has been improving the defensive line, both in the transfer portal and in recruiting. They will need to turn their attention to other big defensive line targets, but Liggins's going to Illinois hurts.