MADISON — Director of Recruiting Pat Lambert and Director of Player Personnel Max Stienecker met with the media on Wednesday to discuss National Signing Day, where they offered their thoughts on the 2025 class, the recruitment process of key commits and more.

BadgerBlitz.com has compiled the key takeaways.

The most talked-about commit of the 2025 cycle, by far, was quarterback Carter Smith.

The four-star from Fort Myers, Florida was committed to Michigan for almost a year before de-committing near the end of October, opening the door for the Badgers to swoop in and sign the third-highest rated quarterback in the 2025 class.

“His process was a very challenging one. We always tell families, this is not an easy recruiting process. And unfortunately, sometimes we make it tougher than it needs to be, and sometimes the leagues make it tougher and the rules make it tougher than it needs to be," Stienecker said. "So, [my] heart was out to them on how the process went with his prior institution, and it was just an opportunity that kind of struck at the right time that we say everything happens for a reason, and for us, Pat and I were able to go down there and spend some time at Bishop Verot, and he was able to come up here on his official visit. And it just felt like a perfect match for who we are, what we want to do and what we want to be.

“There's several kids in this recruiting class. Carter's one of them, Hardy Watts, Mason Posa, there's several others who just embody what Wisconsin football is, but more importantly, who Luke Fickell is."

Some of the Badgers’ most important pickups of the 2025 class, notably on the defensive line, were previously committed to other schools before flipping to Wisconsin.

Three-star defensive end Torin Pettaway flipped from Minnesota. Three-star defensive tackle Drayden Pavey was committed to Purdue before jumping over to Wisconsin in October. Yet none made more noise than the commitment of four-star defensive end Jaylen Williams, who was previously headed to Michigan.

Stienecker was asked about the process in which a flip takes place, but mostly discussed the inherent uncertainty of recruiting.

“It's always challenging for us. It's something we got to continually remind ourselves of throughout the entire process, that one thing that you get addicted to, at least, I know I am, I know Pat is, is the chase. The chase when a kid calls you and commits and wants to be a Badger, and you want him. You love that feeling, and you have to continually challenge yourself to say, ‘Hey, don't take a step back.’ Just because they're committed in this world doesn't mean that they're a Wisconsin Badger.

“So, speaking from that point of view, knowing when they commit that there's still a lot of recruiting and a lot of relationship-building to go all the way until the day they get here. And talking about that, flipping to the other side of it is [that] schools can't let up, especially on guys that we really, really want… you don't give up. You keep recruiting them, and if they leave their foot off the pedal, then there’s a lot of opportunity to continue to convince their family this is the right fit for them,” Stienecker said.

A few members of the 2025 class weren’t initially recruited by Fickell and the new coaching administration, and were rather holdovers from the previous Paul Chryst-led staff.

Perhaps the highest profile holdover is three-star inside linebacker Cooper Catalano, a Germantown native who broke the state record for career tackles in his senior season.

“We knew coming in that recruiting the state of Wisconsin was really important to us. And right when we got in, I think some of the old staff had talked about him, and we had communicated with him and turned the tape on, and we just saw, instantly, that he is a football player. I mean, you talk about the all-time leading tackler in Wisconsin football history, and I'm sure they've been playing the sport of football for a long time here, so that was something. And just as far as the kid and the tape, we were obviously excited that he just finds the football, and we know, [instinctively], that's an important thing at the linebacker position,” Lambert said.

Williams was the highest-rated and most unlikely flip of the 2025 class.

The Palatine, Illinois native had been committed to Michigan since June before making the switch in late November. Despite how late the commitment came, there’s a deep history to the relationship between Williams and the Badgers.

“Jaylen goes way, way, way, way, way back. We were hot and heavy on him, obviously, a Chicagoland guy that we had on campus. Our first two months on campus, we had him here, and he was like the only kid in his recruiting class, it was him and Cooper Catalano. Those were the only two kids there. And we swung, we recruited him hard. This was back when Coach [Greg] Scruggs was here, and we had built a fantastic relationship with them, and for whatever reason, things changed, his mind changed, and his avenues changed, but we never changed and never stopped recruiting him. So it all worked out in the end for us,” Stienecker said.

The two recruiting directors spoke passionately about every recruit that was brought up, but when asked about four-star linebacker Mason Posa, they began to glow.

The Albuquerque, New Mexico native received 23 total offers, notably from schools such as Alabama, Oregon and Texas A&M. But once Posa committed in June, he never wavered.

“He's really special,” Stienecker said.

“I told this to him and his family. I think Pat would agree. I think everyone would agree. I’ve never met a more Luke Fickell recruit in the history of recruiting. You're talking about the competitive nature, tough as nails, obviously the wrestling background, big heart, family, faith, football, that's just who he is. That's who Luke Fickell is, and [he’s a] perfect fit for us. I think there's a lot of things that we're really excited about beyond just the player, who he is, and the leadership, the competitiveness. I really think he could be a cornerstone of our culture moving forward.”

For a run-first program like Wisconsin, it may have been a surprise to see that not a single running back was signed as part of the 2025 class.

Lambert explained that the addition of three promising backs in the 2024 class — Darrion Dupree, Dilin Jones and Gideon Ituka — contributed to the lack of 2025 backs.

“It’s both sides. From our perspective, [we] just signed three, three [we’re] really excited about. Darrion had a great season. He's going to continue to progress, and Dilin Jones, we’re really excited about, Gideon Ituka we’re really excited about. So we knew we had a good core nucleus of three of them, and the odds of all three of them burning the red shirt were rather low. And on the flip side of it, it becomes really, really hard to recruit a running back at the level that we want to recruit when they know that those guys are in the class above them. So it kind of transpired and worked itself out,” Lambert said.

Lambert and Stienecker were asked about how ending the season on a five-game losing streak made recruiting more challenging. The term “blind faith,” which has become a Luke Fickell mantra, came up more than once.

“Obviously, things get tougher when the blind faith and that faith and belief is challenged. But we felt like [we] built through relationships and built through, obviously, the vision of where the program's going. Sometimes it doesn't happen as fast as you want it to happen, but [we had to] just kind of continue to remind them that they're the future of this thing. And we chose them, and they chose us for a reason,” Stienecker said.

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