BadgerBlitz.com - Offer count: How UW stacks up

March 13, 2013

Jon McNamara
BadgerBlitz.com Publisher

Follow @McNamaraRivals

It's likely Gary Andersen, the current head coach at Wisconsin, and Bret Bielema, the lead man in Madison for seven years before leaving for Arkansas in December, will have their respective careers compared by critics and fans for the foreseeable future.

And since Andersen has yet to coach a college football game for the Badgers, one of the only pieces of data to analyze during his short time at UW is his activity and production on the recruiting front.

Fans who follow recruiting have been quick to note just how many offers in the 2014 have been extended by Andersen and his staff -- or so it would appear -- since Signing Day on Feb. 6.

As of March 13, 2013, Wisconsin has 72 known scholarship offers out to prospects in the current junior class, a number that also includes prospects whom Bielema offered while still on staff. By comparison, 81 known offers were extended under Bielema's watch in 2012 altogether, the last full cycle he recruited and signed at UW.

But just how does Andersen stack up against the rest of the Big Ten? Is he offering at a quicker pace than the 11 other coaches in his conference? The bar graph below should provide a few answers to those questions.

Note: The numbers in the chart were generated from the Rivals.com database as of March 13, 2013. Those numbers may not be 100 percent accurate because college coaches are not able to comment on offer or high school players until they sign a National Letter of Intent.

Alabama, the defending national champions, were added to the list to provide a look at a school outside the Big Ten Conference.

Finally, Arkansas has offered 91 prospects in the current class, though a handful of those offers took place before Bielema was the head coach.