Wisconsin lands 4-star QB in recruiting battle with Michigan St, Mizzou, among others

The Wisconsin Badgers land a big commitment today from 4-star quarterback Ryan Hopkins from Mater Dei. He becomes their fifth commit in the 2026 class and their fourth commitment in the last few weeks. It seems as if head coach Luke Fickell has found his groove in this 2026 cycle, when it originally started so slowly with only one lone commit (Benjamin Novak) for months.

4-star Mater Dei QB Ryan Hopkins has committed to Luke Fickell and the Badgers

Ryan Hopkins is listed as a 3-star QB from 24/7 Sports but a 4-star from Rivals, and is highly coveted by some top programs looking for his services. He holds 11 offers, almost all of them from high-major programs. Teams like Michigan State, Missouri, Washington, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, among many others.

It wasn't long ago that he locked in an official visit that is to take place May 29-June 1, and he hasn't even taken that visit before he decided to actually make his decision for the Badgers. He is developing at a fast rate and is drawing more and more interest. Thus, it was important for Wisconsin to lock him up, and you have to assume the new system put together by offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes helps a ton.

Greg Biggins of 24/7 Sports wrote this about him in Hopkins' profile:

"Hopkins has emerged this season as one of the top quarterback prospects in the ’26 West Coast class. He has a prototypical pocket passer frame but can really run. He clocked a 10.97-100m last Spring but was probably more advanced as an athlete than a thrower coming in to this season. He has made big strides in terms of his accuracy, touch and overall feel for the position. He’s a threat to take off and run at any time and has multiple touchdown runs of 20+ yards on the season."

Greg Biggins

He is an important player to add to the 2026 class. He will be able to compete for a job in a couple of years and may inspire other players to come and play with him. This spring, Fickell has done a great job of putting together a good 2026 recruiting class.