Wisconsin offered 2026 offensive lineman Benjamin Novak on June 19. Just over three months later, he's the second verbal commit for the Badgers in their junior cycle. His head coach at Andrean High School, Chris Skinner, said Wisconsin simply made too much sense for the Merrillville, Indiana native.

"There was a point where I talked to Ben, and he was surprised how many boxes it checked off, and how much sense it made to him and his family so early in this process," Skinner said.

"This is something that, I didn’t think maybe six months ago he would make this decision at this point. But I think that speaks to how much Wisconsin means to him and how important it was for him to do this this early.”