Head coach Luke Fickell hit a handful of Wisconsin high schools on Friday

Luke Fickell made a strong effort to acclimate himself with high school coaches at some of the top programs in the state of Wisconsin on Friday.

The Badgers new head coach made a handful of stops to gather information on a number of prospects in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes.

Note: This list is not in chronological order and may not reflect every stop Fickell made on Friday.

One of Fickell's priorities on Friday was to reaffirm Cooper Catalano's scholarship offer from the Badgers. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound tackling machine in the 2025 class also has an early scholarship from Illinois. The sophomore from Germantown High School visited UW at least twice for games this fall.

The Wisconsin state record for career tackles is currently held by Black Hawk’s Brady Milz, who racked up 462 stops from 2014-17. If Catalano - who currently has 267 over two seasons - stays healthy, he will have a chance to break that record.

Arrowhead has sent a number of athletes to Wisconsin over the last 20-plus years, and head coach Matt Harris has the program trending back in the right direction in his third year with the Warhawks.

Arrowhead's headliner is Derek Jensen, a 6-foot-6, 290-pound junior tackle. He doesn't have an offer from the in-state Badgers just yet, but Jensen does list scholarships from Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue and Syracuse.

Jace Gilbert is the top collegiate prospect on the defensive line from inside the state. Central Michigan and Iowa State have already offered the 6-foot-5, 270-pound junior, who is also fielding interest from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Syracuse, among others.

Arrowhead has a handful of other potential Division 1 athletes on the roster, a list that includes Iowa State preferred walk-on commit Tripp Walsh, as well as sophomore quarterback Vance Holtz, among others.

Fickell is continuing Wisconsin's early momentum with Charlie Hoitink, who visited at least two times for home games at Camp Randall this fall. One of the top in-state linemen in 2025 class, Hoitink, a projected interior prospect, has early offers from Penn and Rutgers.

Fickell may have also been gathering information Ben Hoitink, a graduate transfer transfer from Penn. The Badgers could be looking for help on the interior and Hoitink, a multi-year starter, could provide depth at either guard or center.

Catholic Memorial is home to arguably Wisconsin's top two targets in the 2024 class, tailback Corey Smith and offensive guard Donovan Harbour.

Smith, a four-star talent who helped the Crusaders to the Division 4 state title appearance in November, is one of the top tailbacks in the country. He currently lists offers from Auburn, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Purdue, Tennessee and Wisconsin, among others. Rivlas.com lists Smith, who has been on UW's campus a handful of times, as the No. 11 tailback in the country.

Harbour, a two-time WFCA Large School All-State pick, has an offer from the Badgers, as well as Boston College, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee and Virginia Tech, among others.

Memorial also features sophomore offensive tackle Owen Strebig, who, at 6-foot-7 and 280 pounds, could have the highest upside in the 2025 class. It would not be surprising to see Power 5 programs - including Wisconsin - begin to offer as early as this winter.

Racine Horlick was maybe the most interesting stop Fickell made on Friday. The Badgers could make a late run at current Air Force commit Blake Fletcher, a four-year varsity starter for the Rebels. The all-state pick and multi-sport athlete had 146 total tackles this fall.

"It went well," Fletcher told BadgerBlitz.com. "We had a nice conversation, and my parents and I had the opportunity to learn about him and his family. He seems like a really great guy. It was very humbling that he took time in the midst of such a big transition to come meet with us."

Fickell also checked in on Nate White, the top overall prospect in Wisconsins' 2023 in-state class. The three-star senior from Milwaukee has not wavered in his commitment during the coaching transition and is expected to take an official visit to UW next weekend. This fall, White rushed for 1,345 yards and 26 touchdowns in 10 games.

Mike Tressel, who served as Fickell's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Cincinnati, worked in the state of Illinois on Friday. He made a stop at Nazareth Academy to see current commit Justin Taylor, and may have also had Tyler Jansey (Batavia), Jamel Howard (Marist) and Roderick Pierce (Brother Rice) on his list.

Tressel's exact role and title at Wisconsin is not yet known.

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