The newest Badgers will begin arriving in Madison shortly. A Wisconsin official confirmed last week that cornerback Al Ashford, outside linebacker T.J. Bollers, inside linebacker Jake Chaney, defensive lineman Mike Jarvis, offensive lineman Riley Mahlman and tight end Jack Pugh will all join the football program in January.

With that, BadgerBlitz.com wanted to look back on those players who decided to forego their final half-year of high school to jump straight into the college football atmosphere during the Paul Chryst era. Some names during this stroll down memory lane will pop out to many Wisconsin fans, especially for their recent contributions.

Note: Wisconsin stats come from player profiles on UWBadgers.com or the UW Fact Book, unless otherwise stated.

*Linebacker Ty DeForest (walk-on) stayed in Madison for his freshman year, according to UW's profile of the Marshall, Wis., native. The in-state standout moved on to Illinois State thereafter and played in 49 career games for the Redbirds. He recorded 170 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, five sacks and four interceptions during his time with the FCS program between 2016-19.

*Offensive lineman Jon Dietzen stayed with the Badgers the longest and, well, longer than most players in college. He left the game after the 2018 season but returned to finish his career during UW's modified 2020 season. He started all seven games at three different positions - left tackle, left guard and right guard. The Black Creek, Wis., native saw action in 42 contests overall between 2016-20 and opened holes for Corey Clement, Dare Ogunbowale and Jonathan Taylor, among others.

*Quarterback Alex Hornibrook helped lead Wisconsin to a 2017 Orange Bowl win over Miami -- claiming MVP honors for that New Year's Six bowl in the process. Like a few in this class, however, his time in Madison was shortened before the end of his eligibility. He took over for Bart Houston against Georgia State in 2016 and saw extensive playing time thereafter that season before taking over the reins fully a year later. Overall, Hornibrook completed 426-of-704 passes (60.5%) for 5,438 yards with 47 touchdowns to 33 interceptions. He left for Florida State after the 2018 season, in which he missed four games due to a head injury, and finished his career with the Seminoles.

Hornibrook still sits tied for third in career touchdown passes, fourth in career completions and fifth in Wisconsin school history in career passing yards and passing efficiency (138.1). His 26-6 overall record as a starter still ranks among the program's best winning percentage for a quarterback.

*Quarterback Austin Kafentzis never actually played in a game for Wisconsin after leaving Utah as one of the state's all-time prep standouts. He transferred to Nevada after spring 2015, then spent time at Arizona Western College before heading to the Cougars, as seen in his BYU profile. He finished his career playing 35 games in Provo, tallying 16 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble as a safety in 2019.

*Tight end Kyle Penniston played in 39 games (21 starts) between 2016-18, hauling in 16 catches for 176 yards and four touchdowns. He moved on to Rutgers after the 2018 campaign, but according to the Scarlet Knights' profile of the California native, he did not play in 2019 "due to injury."

*UW does not have an online player profile for walk-on wide receiver Noah Stengel.

*Linebacker Nick Thomas redshirted in 2015 before not seeing game action the next two seasons "due to injury," according to UW.

*Quarterback Karé Lyles redshirted his first year in the program before not playing in the 2017 season. He transferred thereafter to Scottsdale Community College for the 2018 campaign before moving on to FCS program Southern Illinois a year later, according to the Saluskis' online profile. He completed 127 of 202 passes (62.8%) of his passes for 1,569 yards with 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2019.

*Inside linebacker Dallas Jeanty: The Florida prospect did not play a game for Wisconsin and left the program in 2017. He moved on to Navy thereafter, and according to the Capital Gazette, "retired" before the 2019 season after not seeing game action with the Midshipmen.

*Quarterback Jack Coan came in and eventually assumed a backup role to Hornibrook during Wisconsin's 13-1 season. He later completed 60.2% of his throws for 515 yards (average of 103 yards through the air) with five touchdowns and three interceptions in 2018. He played in five games (four starts) in relieving the southpaw during that campaign. A year later in 2019, Coan improved to connect on 69.6% of his passes for 2,727 yards and 18 touchdowns in his first full season as a starter. The then-junior only threw five interceptions in 14 contests.

Coan suffered a right foot injury and underwent surgery before the 2020 season, and he did not play in UW's seven contests. He finished his career playing with 25 games total, 18 of which were starts. The Long Island native will now head to Notre Dame, but not after etching his mark in the record books by being third all-time in career completion percentage (68%) and passer efficiency (144.7).

*Offensive lineman Kayden Lyles started the last two years on the offensive line, both at guard (four contests in 2019) and more recently at center for the first four games of 2020 before a right leg injury against Indiana cost him the rest of the season. Prior to that, he selflessly transitioned to the defensive line for 2018 to help shore up depth in that room, starting seven games. He has played in 29 games overall between 2018-2020.

*Cornerback Faion Hicks redshirted his first year but has developed to be one of the players seeing consistent reps in Jim Leonhard's secondary. He has played 33 games with 28 starts in the last three years, recording 80 tackles, one interception and nine pass breakups in the process. He has already announced his return for the 2021 season.

*Madison Cone started off as a cornerback before transitioning to safety for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He has played in 35 games during his career - arguably his biggest year was 2018 where he started two games and recorded two interceptions. Cone saw time on the field in only two games for the 2020 season.

*Outside linebacker Izayah Green-May has flashed his athleticism, but the past two years has seen injuries hamper a more prominent impact. He played in the 2020 opener against Illinois, but a right arm injury cost him the rest of season. The Illinois native started 2019 as a starter alongside Zack Baun against South Florida, but he then suffered a thumb injury that kept him out of the Central Michigan blowout victory. He still played in 12 games during that Rose Bowl campaign, but Noah Burks took over the starting role. Overall, Green-May has played in 19 contests for Wisconsin between 2018-2020.

Note: Cornerback Deron Harrell was a grayshirt who enrolled in spring semester 2017, while outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (JUCO) was a redshirt junior who arrived in Jan. 2017.

*Despite technically redshirting in 2018, cornerback Donte Burton still found time on the field that year with four games being added to his young resume. The Georgia native has played in 23 games, including five starts, and has recorded 22 tackles and five pass breakups in three seasons. He saw action in all seven games during the truncated 2020 campaign. That included starting three contests against Indiana, Minnesota and Wake Forest.

*Wide receiver Aron Cruickshank moved on to Rutgers for 2020, but not before showcasing his game-changing skills in Madison. He returned two kickoff returns for touchdowns on way to averaging 29.3 yards per attempt, but he also accumulated 138 yards on 13 carries and one rushing touchdown as a sophomore in 2019. He played in 27 games overall in Madison.

In Piscataway, Cruickshank claimed the Big Ten's Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year and consensus first-team all-conference honors in 2020. He, again, returned two kickoffs for touchdowns while also contributing 37 receptions for 239 yards and a receiving touchdown for the Scarlet Knights.

*Wide receiver Taj Mustapha has seen reps in eight games between 2018-20. His lone reception was a three-yard touchdown pass from Danny Vanden Boom as a freshman. UW's participation log notes that he played three games in 2020.

*Head coach Paul Chryst told reporters in September that Reggie Pearson "wasn't cleared to play" for the 2020 season. However, he made an impact in 2019 as part of a strong two-deep of safeties in Leonhard's secondary. The Michigan native saw time in all 14 games that year, finishing fourth in tackles (60) while also tallying 3.5 tackles for loss, four passes defended and two forced fumbles. As of last week, a UW official told BadgerBlitz.com that Pearson's status has not changed with the program.

*Defensive lineman Bryson Williams assumed a role in his first year at UW, playing in all 13 games (three starts) in 2018 with Olive Sagapolu's senior season cut short. Williams's sophomore campaign itself was contracted due to injury, but he saw time in all seven contests in 2020. Overall, he has seen snaps in 26 outings in three years, contributing 20 tackles.

*Inside linebacker Leo Chenal emerged as a starter for the 2020 season, and he certainly made an impact alongside Jack Sanborn. He started all 14 games, finishing first on the team in tackles for loss (six), sacks (three) and quarterback hurries (seven). Chenal also ended his sophomore campaign second behind Sanborn in tackles (46).

Chenal played in 11 games and recorded 20 tackles, two for loss in 2019.

*Outside linebacker Spencer Lytle redshirted in 2019 before playing in five games in 2020, registering five tackles and a fumble recovery.

*Quarterback Graham Mertz took over starting duties for an injured Coan in 2020 and eventually ended his redshirt freshman year completing 61.1% of his throws for 1,238 yards with nine touchdown passes to five interceptions. The Kansas product started the season off with a scorching performance. He connected on 20 of 21 throws -- eclipsing the school's single-game completion percentage mark previously held by Hornibrook -- for 248 yards and five touchdowns. The handful of passing scores in a contest also tied a school-record, along with his stretch of 17 straight completions against the Illini.

After a rough stretch, Mertz rebounded from a tough stretch to hit on 11 of 17 passes for 130 yards with one score through the air in the Dec. 30 victory over Wake Forest in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. He appears set to be Wisconsin's QB1 for the future.

*Wide receiver Cam Phillips redshirted his freshman year as a walk-on, but he was not listed on UW's 2020 fall roster.

*Offensive lineman Dylan Barrett did not play in any of Wisconsin's 2020 contests.

*Wide receiver Chimere Dike displayed his potential this season, especially when injuries hit Alvis Whitted's position group. Seniors Danny Davis, Kendric Pryor and Adam Krumholz all missing significant time in 2020. The Waukesha (WI) North recruit hauled in 12 catches for 189 yards and one touchdown.

*Nick Herbig made his presence known early in his freshman year, starting all seven games at outside linebacker. He finished tied for first with Chenal in tackles for loss (six) and alone in fourth in tackles (26). He should be a significant staple of Bobby April's room for years to come.

*Defensive end Cade McDonald played in two games and found himself in the two-deep at the end of his first year in the program.

*Offensive lineman Jack Nelson saw time against Michigan in 2020 but also was listed as the No. 2 right tackle in the depth chart at the end of the year.

*Inside linebacker Jordan Turner did not play this season.

*Like Nelson, inside linebacker Preston Zachman played against Michigan in 2020.

Note: former D-III punter Andy Vujnovich enrolled mid-year, but was not a freshman.