Every year, Rivals.com ranks prospects and recruiting classes. But continuing today, BadgerBlitz.com is looking at Wisconsin's cycles over a 10-year period and ranking them against each other.
Specifically, we're looking at the classes that UW signed from 2007 to 2016 and ranking them based on what players did in college. There's not enough evidence to judge the classes of 2017, 2018 or 2019 yet, so we cut off the rankings there and counted back 10 years.
In order to get a more well-rounded perspective, BadgerBlitz.com enlisted the help of former staff writers John Veldhuis and Jon Gorman; @zonemadison (96.7FM 1670AM) Sports Director Zach Heilprin; and current writers Jon McNamara and Benjamin Worgull. Each was asked to assign a point total (1 to 10) to each class, with 10 being the highest and 1 being lowest.
Today, we continue with No. 3 on the rankings: The Class of 2008.
Total Points: 35
No. 10: 2012 | No. 9: 2007 | No. 8: 2010 | No. 7: 2011 | No. 6: 2015 | No. 5: 2016 | No. 4: 2014 |
Top recruit: Wisconsin was able to keep Kevin Zeitler inside the state despite an offer from Michigan prior to his decision. The standout from Wisconsin Lutheran started 36 games and was a first-team All-American by the AFCA and Pro Football Weekly as a senior. Zeitler was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012 and is one of the top offensive linemen from the Bret Bielema era.
Best surprise: Ricky Wagner transformed from a walk-on tight end to a starter at tackle for the Badgers. Having played in 51 career games, Wagner was an All-Big Ten selection in 2012 and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Biggest bust: Leonhard Hubbard was a big-time prospect from Illinois with a healthy offer sheet. But he never did anything for the Badgers and landed at Illinois State.
Wanted to see more from: A healthy Tyler Westphal would have been exciting to see. The shoulder injury, though, destroyed his playing career.
Rivals.com class recruiting rank: No. 41
States represented (9): Wisconsin, Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, Minnesota, Florida, Illinois, Iowa and Arkansas.
Transferred: Dex Jones (Western Michigan), Leonard Hubbard (Illinois State), Joe Schafer (St. Thomas), Erik Smith (Illinois State) and Tyler Westphal (North Dakota State).
*Christopher Garner never enrolled at Wisconsin.
NFL Draft Picks: Peter Konz, Kevin Zeitler, Bradie Ewing, Brad Nortman, Ricky Wagner
First-Team All-Americans: Konz, Zeitler
LAST THOUGHT
To start, I'm a little surprised this group cracked the top 3, but it's tough to argue with five NFL Draft picks. That number is tied for the most - along with 2005 and 2009 - during the Rivals.com era. Schafer was a bust, but he was replaced by Wagner to form a very strong offensive line class. Defensive back was also a position of strength, with Marcus Cromartie, Devin Smith, Shelton Johnson and Antonio Fenelus all developing into solid contributors for the Badgers; Kevin Claxton played as a true freshman before he grew into a linebacker. Punter Brad Nortman proved worthy of an offer and Bradie Ewing added his name to the list of walk-on turned scholarship players at UW.
Just like in every class, though, there were some misses. It would be wrong to label Curt Phillips and Tyler Westphal busts because of the injuries that surfaced during their time at Wisconsin. But Hubbard, Schafer, Garner, Zach Davison, T.J. Williams and Erik Smith were not Big Ten-caliber athletes. Overall, this was one of Bielema's better classes during his time at UW, with then-assistant coaches Kerry Cooks and Dave Doeren doing a lot of heavy lifting to put this group together.
