MADISON, Wis. – The start of the early signing period moving up two weeks caught Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell by surprise. Between trying to hire an offensive coordinator, navigate the start of players entering the portal, and prepare for the program’s longest offseason in 23 years, Fickell admitted he forgot that letters of intent were about to start rolling in.
“I was up to 11:30 still continuing to talk to a recruit,” Fickell said. “There’s been so much going on.”
Racing to the office from his couch appeared to give Wisconsin’s third-year head coach a needed boost. From emotionally downtrodden last Friday following Wisconsin’s lackluster 24-7 loss to Minnesota, ending its season at 5-7 and likely missing a bowl game for the first time since 2001, Fickell was upbeat when referencing a 24-member signing class that could be the foundation to his program rebuild.
“This is their day and it’s really, really, really important,” he said. “I appreciate them more than anything because through the ups and the downs, their ability to believe in us and trust us. With all the things we had told them from the time we started recruiting them, through the summer, when there’s ups and downs, all you can rely back on is the trust, respect, and love you built with these guys.”
This is the second consecutive top-25 recruiting class for Fickell, currently at No.19 in the Rivals.com ranking. The Badgers inked 10 four-star recruits from eight different states, adding 10 projected offensive players and 14 on defense.
Most important to Fickell, Wisconsin saw only one player de-commit in the month leading into the early signing period, a sign that Fickell believes validates the message he’s trying to convey as he looks to rebuild a program that has gone 12-13 the last two seasons.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t say the last three weeks, just knowing how we’ve played and not being able to win and not being able to get in a position where we finished well, it’s worried me,” Fickell said. “To see guys like Mason Posa not waver … that faith and belief that the games and what you see on Saturday isn’t everything. For those guys to hold with us and believe in us … relationships, trust, and belief in this process still win out.”
Program building takes on added importance in the era of the transfer portal. Since the portal opened on Monday, 11 Badgers have entered their name into it. Of the 15 players from Fickell’s first class that he took over from Paul Chryst in late November, 10 players have or are in the process of transferring.
While Fickell acknowledged the transfer portal is a beneficial tool, the Badgers still are adamant about building their roster through high school recruiting. Of the 79 players currently on the roster, only 16 are holdovers from the Chryst era while 58 percent are from Fickell’s first two classes.
“You do create better relationships,” Fickell said of recruiting high schoolers. “Hopefully things are built a little bit deeper that gives them a better chance to get on the field earlier or play above their God-given ability because you can push them. You can motivate them.
“With the transfer portal, you still don’t really know. If it’s a short amount of time you get a chance to know a guy before he comes in, you’re going to rely a lot on your intuition. You’re going to rely a lot on maybe somebody else’s opinion. Once you’re in it, you recognize that areas where you really need to address.
“I can say we all mistakes. One of those mistakes for me might be maybe we didn’t pinpoint and recognize well enough the areas where we needed to address. By this time, we have, and we will.”
Whoever Wisconsin adds through the portal will join most of the signing class. Fickell confirmed that 16 of the 24 players will enroll by January 17 to participate in winter conditioning and spring practices.
“Where we are headed in college, it’s almost closer to the NFL,” Fickell said. “You’re going to have to rely upon these guys, and that’s why it’s great that 16 of them are coming in early. When spring ball starts, they’re going to have to be put in a position to earn opportunities to play. You got to rely upon young guys a lot more.”
2025 Recruits Enrolling Early
QB: Landyn Locke, Carter Smith
WR: Eugene Hilton Jr.
TE: Emmett Bork
OL: Nolan Davenport, Michael Roeske, Hardy Watts
DL: Torin Pettaway, Xavier Ukponu
LB: Cooper Catalano
OLB: Nicolas Clayton
CB: Cairo Skanes
S: Luke Emmerich, Grant Dean, Remington Moss, Jaimier Scott
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