With head coach Luke Fickell scheduled to unveil Wisconsin's 2025 recruiting class on Wednesday, BadgerBlitz.com contributors Benjamin Worgull, Matt Perkins and Jon McNamara provided their insight on the expected group.

Perkins: This is a tough one, as you can make a strong case for a couple of guys, most notably quarterback Carter Smith. But I’m going to go with Eugene Hilton. The four-star receiver out of Indiana has NFL bloodlines but plays very differently from his Pro Bowl father. A true X receiver, Hilton has the frame and ball skills to make contested catches on the outside and enough speed to get behind defenses. He’s got as much upside as anyone in this class, and could be the most productive skill player to come out of this bunch.

Worgull: Like Matt stated, it’s tough to pick a clear top prospect in a class that includes 10 four-star players that are all closely ranked together. I don’t necessarily think there is a wrong answer here on the eve of Signing Day (so ask me in five years). However, one prospect that stands out to me is Jahmare Washington, one of two projected cornerbacks in the class. Having good size for a corner at 6-foot-2, Washington caught the attention of multiple high school offensive coordinators, who often chose to scheme far away from him. He estimated that he was targeted three times during the season in man coverage but used his range in zone coverage to finish the season with five takeaways. Solid corners are hard to find, and Washington appears to fit that bill with his aggression, length, speed, and twitch.

McNamara: Defensive back Jaimier Scott was Wisconsin’s highest-rated commit for the bulk of the 2025 recruiting cycle. That changed when Carter Smith committed to the Badgers, but Scott is still an incredibly important piece of this class. With the ability to play safety, corner or in the slot, the Rivals250 prospect should provide plenty of versatility when he arrives on campus. The four-star talent committed to the Badgers early in the cycle and never wavered despite strong interest from other Big Ten programs.

Worgull: While only four 2024 signees burned their redshirt in Year 1 (OL Kevin Heywood, CB Xavier Lucas, RB Darrion Dupree, and DL Dillan Johnson), Wisconsin should go into the spring with plenty of positions having an open competition. That bodes well for all the early enrollees in this class. Neenah defensive back Grant Dean reminds some of former UW linebacker Leo Chenal. While Dean goes to a bigger high school, both in-state players committed over mediocre offer lists but did a little bit of everything for their respective teams. Dean had over 1,000 rushing yards and 250 receiving yards as a running back and 40 tackles and two interceptions at the safety spot. Like Chenal, Dean is going to enroll early and is more than capable of carving out a role for himself on special teams.

Perkins: I could say Hilton for this one as well, but for the sake of argument, I’m going to go with Mason Posa. The four-star linebacker from New Mexico picked the Badgers over Oregon and Texas A&M, and on tape, he’s an absolute wrecking ball. Wisconsin will lose both starting ILBs from this past season (Jaheim Thomas and Jake Chaney), so while they have to very solid pieces in Christian Alliegro and Tackett Curtis returning, there will definitely be snaps available, and Posa seems poised to grab them. I have zero doubt he’ll be a core special teams player early in his career, and could be a starter sooner rather than later.

McNamara: Wisconsin generated just 17 total sacks in 2024 - only 6.5 from the outside linebacker position. And while that statistic isn’t the only measurement for success at the position, it has to be a concern for the entire defense moving forward. With that, Nicolas Clayton could carve out a role early on, especially as a pass rusher. At 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, the four-star prospect has the measurables and athletic profile to contribute right away in obvious passing situations. If he can digest the playbook, Clayton likely won’t be someone who redshirts in 2025, especially with Leon Lowery and John Pius on their way out.

Worgull: Remington Moss committed 16 months and one day ago, so his commitment has been somewhat overshadowed over that time. Moss is a hard-hitting defensive back who has versatility and length, which a defensive staff covets for a secondary player. He’s labeled a corner but could easily slide to the safety position. Like Washington, Moss’ side of the field wasn’t often targeted, but he hit double-digit tackles for loss with his ability to blitz and read run plays. He’s strong (benching over 300 pounds and squatting near 400 pounds), quick (4.5 to 4.6 in the 40-yard dash), and has good bloodlines (cousin to 1993 Big Ten Player of the Year Brent Moss), so there’s a lot to like here.

Perkins: Maybe my favorite prospect in this class, edge rusher Samuel Lateju has the frame and athleticism to be a true disruptor for outside linebackers coach Mike Mitchell. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound prospect out of New Jersey may still be raw, but on tape, he shows a burst off the line and the ability to close that will bode well for him at the next level. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him be an impact player in his second or third season in the program.

McNamara: It feels like Michael Roseke committed ages ago, largely because he gave the news to then-position coach Jack Bicknell Jr. But going back to his recruitment, a number of schools, including Michigan and Notre Dame, prioritized the in-state tackle. A knee injury ended his junior season, and Wautoma won just two games this fall. But Roeske is a mountain of a man at 6-foot-8 and 300 pounds, and he’s athletic enough to play on the edge in the Big Ten. Expectations should be high despite a rather cut and dry recruitment.

Worgull: Finishing last (133rd) in the nation in tackles for loss (3.5 per game) and 118th in sacks (1.42), it’s clear the Badgers need better play from its front seven, mainly the defensive line, which has struggled to replace the impeccable play of Keanu Benton the last two seasons.

Knowing that, it’s impossible to pick between Drayden Pavey and Xavier Ukponu, two 6-foot-3, 300-pound run stuffers that the Badgers need in the middle of their defensive line to free up blitzing linebackers. Pavey – who flipped his commitment from Purdue - and Ukponu – who picked the Badgers from over 35 other offers – both need to refine their technique to go against college-aged offensive linemen and still fill out their frames. However, it’s not a stretch to say that both will be counted on early in their careers to fix a glaring problem with Wisconsin’s defense.

Perkins: This is probably the easiest choice on the board, as the Badgers’ deficiencies at quarterback have been on full display all season. Carter Smith’s whirlwind recruitment gives Wisconsin their second-highest rated QB signee of the Rivals.com era, and he has a chance to come in and compete right away for a starting job depending on how the offensive coordinator hire and portal entries go. The Badgers are desperate for an infusion of talent behind center, and Smith could be the guy who provides that. Starting a true freshman at quarterback in the Big Ten is a big roll of the dice, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility for Smith, who will enroll early and has all of the tools to become a true difference maker at the position.

McNamara: Simply put, Wisconsin couldn’t lose an in-state defensive lineman, especially to Minnesota. Torin Pettaway isn’t the most heralded prospect in this class, but he’s the type of player the Badgers have to keep home in every cycle moving forward. The state doesn’t produce Power 4 defensive linemen every year, so flipping Pettaway back from the Gophers was crucial in this class for a number of reasons.

Worgull: Getting a four-star quarterback in Smith to give his commitment to a sub.500 program without an offensive coordinator is a bold choice, but I’m not naïve that his options may have been limited when he chose to reopen his recruitment this late in the process.

However, the circumstances surrounding Hardy Watts’ commitment equate to a nice surprise for the Badgers. Wisconsin already had four offensive linemen committed when Watts finished his UW official visit. He then took more official visits from his list of 25 major-conference offers and still felt that Wisconsin was the best spot. In the weeks leading into signing day, Watts continued to get pursued and received new offers but maintained solid with his commitment.

A violent lineman who is technically sound in both pass protection and run blocking, Watts has a chance to be UW’s starting right tackle for several seasons.

Perkins: Flipping Jaylen Williams late in the process was a coup for the defensive staff, especially after the decommitment of Wilnerson Telemaque. To flip a four-star from Michigan just a couple weeks before Signing Day shows just how much juice the recruiting staff have at the moment. He’s going to come in as an edge rusher but we’ll see if he’s able to stick - it still wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he ends up at defensive end in the long run.

McNamara: This spring, Logan Powell was a name connected to the Badgers and position coach AJ Blazek. When the four-star prospect took his first official to Wisconsin in June, that was a bit of a surprise. And when the Badgers wrapped up his recruitment that same weekend, it was an even more unexpected splash for the program. UW beat out the home-state school (Arizona) and a national power (Alabama), among many others, to land the four-star talent, who seems like an excellent fit at guard for Wisconsin.

Worgull: Any prospect who breaks a state record for career tackles deserves a tip of the cap. Cooper Catalano deserves far more than that considering he obliterated the state record of 462 tackles by 121. While it takes a good team around him, and a little bit of luck, there’s no denying that Catalano has a nose for the ball. A solid three-star prospect who turned down eight other Power 4 offers when he committed, Catalano fits what UW is looking for from its inside linebackers – a no-nonsense athlete who is willing to put in the work.

Perkins: I could go Lateju again here, as he’s only a 5.6, but since I covered him earlier as my sleeper, I’m going to go with Emmett Bork. Another relatively late flip, this time from Michigan State, Bork is a true in-line tight end who should be an asset in the run game as well as a receiver. Everything I’ve heard about him from talking with people who have watched him in person say that he’s the real deal and has the makings of someone who can be a difference maker. In one of the strongest in-state tight end classes in the history of Wisconsin, Bork is a great get after missing out on James Flanigan.

McNamara: Despite a meager 5.5 ranking, Nolan Davenport is someone who has a chance to make an impact on the offensive line for the Badgers. The three-star prospect racked up offers from Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, among others, prior to his commitment. The Badgers pulled out a pledge before scheduled officials to Michigan State, Missouri and Penn State. During the fall, Michigan also made a strong push to flip the Ohio native. Tackle seems most likely, but Davenport could also work at guard for the Badgers, if needed.

Worgull: What if this class doesn’t produce? This is Luke Fickell’s third signing class at Wisconsin, and he has yet to see the fruits of his labor. His 19th-ranked 2024 class didn’t have many players make a noticeable impact on the field as true freshmen and his abbreviated 2023 class has had three times as many players leave the program (six) as those who have registered notable stats. Stating he wants Wisconsin to be a school where the Badgers recruit and develop, Fickell needs to start delivering on that statement, or he’ll be feeling even more heat after the uninspiring start to his tenure.

Perkins: Max Steinecker and Pat Lambert were one of the first teams to offer Cody Haddad, the safety out of Ohio, and secured a verbal from him in January. As his recruitment blew up, however, a chance to play for his home state Buckeyes proved to be too much to pass up, and he flipped to Ohio State in April. Soon after, Wisconsin set their sights on Grant Dean and Luke Emmerich, landing both prospects shortly after Haddad bolted. The question is what does this defensive back class look like if they’re able to hold on to the top player on their board in Haddad? Do Dean and Emmerich both end up at UW?

McNamara: For a number of reasons, in-state recruiting has changed over the last handful of years. What has stayed the same, however, is the constant discussion hovering over the subject. In the “what if” category, it’s hard not to point to the state’s top three players - OL Owen Strebig, TE James Flanigan and CB Tre Poteat - set to sign elsewhere.

Notre Dame has been a recruiting thorn in Wisconsin’s side for some time, and the Irish got in early and landed both Strebig, the No. 1 player in the state, and Flanigan, a Notre Dame legacy. They also came in late to snag Milwaukee Marquette’s Erik Schmidt, one of the top specialists in the country. Poteat was also a top target for the Badgers, but an opportunity to play in the SEC with Tennessee was too much to pass on. Missing out on the top in-state talent will be a theme when we reevaluate this cycle in three or four years.

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