Wisconsin landing 5-star Jalanie George would be biggest shocker of the Luke Fickell era

Wisconsin was said to have zero chance of landing 5-star Jalanie George, and the favorites were easily Washington and Auburn. You also can never rule out Miami with their recruiting "ways" and extra bags of money. When George narrowed it to those four and chose to make his announcement on October 1, no one was predicting Wisconsin.

Yet, something changed in the last few days. There's still time left for George to go in any direction, and maybe Wisconsin still doesn't land the prized edge rusher, but they are no longer the long shot; instead, they are the favorites. Three different predictions came in today that Wisconsin would be the one that receives George's commitment next week. Big names from Rivals, too, like Steve Wiltfong, Brandon Huffman, and even Evan Flood.

None are giving amazing scores like 90%, but all of them have been willing to pluck down at least a 60% chance that George chooses the Badgers, and that would be the biggest recruiting shocker of the Luke Fickell era.

Wisconsin is predicted to land 5-star edge rusher Jalanie George and that's huge news

The Badgers have never landed a 5-star recruit in the Luke Fickell era. The last 5-star commitment was in 2021 (Nolan Rucci). Wisconsin has brought in a few prized 4-star recruits, and Fickell has done a decent job with blue-chip players in the last couple of cycles. Even bringing in a few big names from in-state, but landing a top player from out of state who's being heavily recruited by all the big recruiting powerhouses is insane.

George is considered the No. 23 player in his class, No. 6 edge rusher, and No. 2 player in his state (Arizona), according to Rivals. He's an elite talent in the 2028 class, and he's considered one of the best edge rushers in the country. At 6'4 and 255, he's a monster as a junior in high school and a player with a ton of explosive ability.

Wisconsin has made major inroads with the Arizona product. It helps that the Badgers have two other edge rushers from his high school already in the fold for the 2027 class: Yahzeen Zion and Nathan Jones. But it may be the game-day visit he took to Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago that cemented the "Wisconsin as the favorites" scenario.

He spoke about how he saw Sebastian Cheeks wreaking havoc in the backfield, and he was excited about Wisconsin's plan to use him. George went on to explain that his relationship with Matt Mitchell is really good and has helped a ton in his recruitment.

Washington was considered the favorite for a long time. However, his most recent visit was to Auburn; it was after that that he decided it was time to announce a commitment date and a final four. That's sometimes a sign that the most recent school is getting the commitment. Yet, now the tables seem to have turned towards Wisconsin, and that would be a huge shock and great news for Luke Fickell.

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