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Luke Fickell hit all the right notes after taking over as Wisconsin's head football coach in November 2022.
His opening press conference focused on 'competing for championships,' reestablishing the program as a Midwestern power and, most notably, evolving its approach while keeping the established strong roots and identity.
Now, exactly 28 months later, it's hard to argue that any of that has become the case. The Badgers are 12-13 on the field, including a 5-7 2024 campaign that saw the program miss a bowl game for the first time since 2001. They have been far from playing for Big Ten titles or College Football Playoff appearances, although those may have been lofty goals given the conference's current landscape. Furthermore, some of the team's struggles have been due to Fickell's initial decision to hire offensive coordinator Phil Longo and move the Badgers to an air raid, a significant departure from their classic pro-style identity.
Fickell moved on from Longo toward the end of the 2024 season. The program now enters 2025 with a new, more familiar offense in place, led by veteran coordinator Jeff Grimes. That shift may instigate an on-field progression. But as things currently stand, it's hard to say much of Fickell's initial vision has been realized.
One comment from one of his opening press conferences is worth returning to in that regard. It is his vision for Wisconsin's recruiting pipeline:
“For me, the uniqueness of being here, just like we were at Cincinnati, is within a 300-mile radius," Fickell said. "You can do the core and the crux of your program, and that’s what I love about this opportunity. Within the 300-mile radius, that will be the core of what we do.”
The Badger head coach has since expanded that number to 350 miles. But whether it's 300 or 350, one significant trend continues to persist: nearly all of Wisconsin's top in-state talent is committing to play elsewhere.
It began the class of 2024, as the Badgers landed the state's No. 4-ranked recruit (OL Derek Jensen), while No. 1 (OT Garrett Sexton) and No. 3 (RB Corey Smith) each chose Penn State, and No. 2 (iOL Nathan Roy) committed to Minnesota.
That's the class of 2024, Fickell's first full recruiting cycle with the program.
It continued in the class of 2025. The Badgers landed the state's No. 4 (OT Michael Roeske) and No. 5 (athlete Grant Dean), though No. 1 (TE James Flanigan) and No. 2 (OT Owen Strebig) each chose Notre Dame, while No. 3 (CB Tre Poteat) committed to Tennessee.
Of course, Notre Dame, Penn State, or another blue-blood landing top Wisconsin talent isn't new. It was a primary headline of the 2022 cycle under Paul Chryst, as the state's No. 2-ranked recruit (OT Billy Schrauth) chose the Fighting Irish and No. 3 (iOL Carson Hinzman) committed to Ohio State. That is to say: the end of the Paul Chryst era saw a similar trend begin to emerge, which is part of why many were in favor of AD Chris McIntosh making a change.
Poteat's choice of Tennessee also needs context -- his father, Hank Poteat, was Wisconsin's cornerbacks coach under Chryst. Fickell brought in Paul Haynes to coach the position after taking the job. As a result, it wasn't a surprise to see Tre Poteat commit elsewhere.
But Wisconsin landed a total of just three top-five in-state recruits over the 2024 and 2025 cycles, none of which were within the state's top three.
That trend has continued into the class of 2026.
The state's No. 2 (iOL James Thomas) and No. 5 (OT Kenton Mondeau) have yet to announce a commitment. Next to them, No. 1 (OT Gavin Meier) pledged to Minnesota on Wednesday, No. 3 (iOL Sam Simpson) recently committed to Indiana and No. 4 (WR Brody Schaffer) chose the rival Iowa Hawkeyes.
Again, context is needed. Meier is the state's No. 1 player in the class, though he's only ranked as the No. 625 overall player in the country and No. 40 offensive tackle. None of the state's top five recruits in the class are blue-chip prospects. As an aside, Fickell does deserve credit for significantly elevating Wisconsin's blue-chip ratio in each of the recruiting cycles since taking over.
However, there is a broader argument that the health of the Wisconsin football program, dating back to Barry Alvarez's time at the helm, is shown by its in-state recruiting numbers. Wisconsin's best recruiting class pre-Fickell was 2021 -- the program landed the state's top six players, among them Hunter Wohler and Braelon Allen. The connection between those two is no coincidence.
Dating back further, Wisconsin landed at least the state's top-ranked recruit in every cycle from 2017-21. While a lot else contributed to the program's success, including fantastic player development, an ace defensive coordinator and a light Big Ten West, there's an argument that those trends are correlated. Or, at the very least, that the in-state recruiting output signaled the program's strong standing.
One wouldn't have to look past Wisconsin's record over the last two seasons to see that the program has fallen far short of the sky-high expectations that followed Fickell's hire. The question is whether its almost non-existent in-state recruiting should be added as a significant signal.
The strength of Fickell's program to date has been the recruiting department's performance. It finished both the 2024 and 2025 cycles with top-25 classes -- that 2024 class was arguably the best in program history. The recruiting output has been far from an issue. The in-state question is more of a philosophical one: can Wisconsin win without the foundation of in-state recruiting?
In other words, does Fickell's '350-mile radius' need to include the state of Wisconsin? Or can the program find success without a key pillar on which it was built?
Either way, Wisconsin has yet to establish the radius that Fickell emphasized when he took the job 28 months ago.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin football recruiting Luke Fickell class of 2026 reaction
Continue reading...
His opening press conference focused on 'competing for championships,' reestablishing the program as a Midwestern power and, most notably, evolving its approach while keeping the established strong roots and identity.
Now, exactly 28 months later, it's hard to argue that any of that has become the case. The Badgers are 12-13 on the field, including a 5-7 2024 campaign that saw the program miss a bowl game for the first time since 2001. They have been far from playing for Big Ten titles or College Football Playoff appearances, although those may have been lofty goals given the conference's current landscape. Furthermore, some of the team's struggles have been due to Fickell's initial decision to hire offensive coordinator Phil Longo and move the Badgers to an air raid, a significant departure from their classic pro-style identity.
Fickell moved on from Longo toward the end of the 2024 season. The program now enters 2025 with a new, more familiar offense in place, led by veteran coordinator Jeff Grimes. That shift may instigate an on-field progression. But as things currently stand, it's hard to say much of Fickell's initial vision has been realized.
One comment from one of his opening press conferences is worth returning to in that regard. It is his vision for Wisconsin's recruiting pipeline:
“For me, the uniqueness of being here, just like we were at Cincinnati, is within a 300-mile radius," Fickell said. "You can do the core and the crux of your program, and that’s what I love about this opportunity. Within the 300-mile radius, that will be the core of what we do.”
The Badger head coach has since expanded that number to 350 miles. But whether it's 300 or 350, one significant trend continues to persist: nearly all of Wisconsin's top in-state talent is committing to play elsewhere.
It began the class of 2024, as the Badgers landed the state's No. 4-ranked recruit (OL Derek Jensen), while No. 1 (OT Garrett Sexton) and No. 3 (RB Corey Smith) each chose Penn State, and No. 2 (iOL Nathan Roy) committed to Minnesota.
That's the class of 2024, Fickell's first full recruiting cycle with the program.
It continued in the class of 2025. The Badgers landed the state's No. 4 (OT Michael Roeske) and No. 5 (athlete Grant Dean), though No. 1 (TE James Flanigan) and No. 2 (OT Owen Strebig) each chose Notre Dame, while No. 3 (CB Tre Poteat) committed to Tennessee.
Of course, Notre Dame, Penn State, or another blue-blood landing top Wisconsin talent isn't new. It was a primary headline of the 2022 cycle under Paul Chryst, as the state's No. 2-ranked recruit (OT Billy Schrauth) chose the Fighting Irish and No. 3 (iOL Carson Hinzman) committed to Ohio State. That is to say: the end of the Paul Chryst era saw a similar trend begin to emerge, which is part of why many were in favor of AD Chris McIntosh making a change.
Poteat's choice of Tennessee also needs context -- his father, Hank Poteat, was Wisconsin's cornerbacks coach under Chryst. Fickell brought in Paul Haynes to coach the position after taking the job. As a result, it wasn't a surprise to see Tre Poteat commit elsewhere.
But Wisconsin landed a total of just three top-five in-state recruits over the 2024 and 2025 cycles, none of which were within the state's top three.
That trend has continued into the class of 2026.
The state's No. 2 (iOL James Thomas) and No. 5 (OT Kenton Mondeau) have yet to announce a commitment. Next to them, No. 1 (OT Gavin Meier) pledged to Minnesota on Wednesday, No. 3 (iOL Sam Simpson) recently committed to Indiana and No. 4 (WR Brody Schaffer) chose the rival Iowa Hawkeyes.
Again, context is needed. Meier is the state's No. 1 player in the class, though he's only ranked as the No. 625 overall player in the country and No. 40 offensive tackle. None of the state's top five recruits in the class are blue-chip prospects. As an aside, Fickell does deserve credit for significantly elevating Wisconsin's blue-chip ratio in each of the recruiting cycles since taking over.
However, there is a broader argument that the health of the Wisconsin football program, dating back to Barry Alvarez's time at the helm, is shown by its in-state recruiting numbers. Wisconsin's best recruiting class pre-Fickell was 2021 -- the program landed the state's top six players, among them Hunter Wohler and Braelon Allen. The connection between those two is no coincidence.
Dating back further, Wisconsin landed at least the state's top-ranked recruit in every cycle from 2017-21. While a lot else contributed to the program's success, including fantastic player development, an ace defensive coordinator and a light Big Ten West, there's an argument that those trends are correlated. Or, at the very least, that the in-state recruiting output signaled the program's strong standing.
One wouldn't have to look past Wisconsin's record over the last two seasons to see that the program has fallen far short of the sky-high expectations that followed Fickell's hire. The question is whether its almost non-existent in-state recruiting should be added as a significant signal.
The strength of Fickell's program to date has been the recruiting department's performance. It finished both the 2024 and 2025 cycles with top-25 classes -- that 2024 class was arguably the best in program history. The recruiting output has been far from an issue. The in-state question is more of a philosophical one: can Wisconsin win without the foundation of in-state recruiting?
In other words, does Fickell's '350-mile radius' need to include the state of Wisconsin? Or can the program find success without a key pillar on which it was built?
Either way, Wisconsin has yet to establish the radius that Fickell emphasized when he took the job 28 months ago.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin football recruiting Luke Fickell class of 2026 reaction
Continue reading...
