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. 9 on the rankings: The Class of 2007.
Total Points: 12
Top recruit: John Clay, the No. 4 running back in the country and a U.S. Army All-American Bowl participant, chose Wisconsin over Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee, Nebraska and a host of other schools. In 2009, Clay led the Big Ten and ranked eighth in the country with 1,517 rushing yards, but weight issues plagued his final season in Madison. An MCL injury sidelined Clay for the last three 2010 regular season games and he declared early for the NFL Draft, where he was not selected. Clay finished his playing days at UW with the third-highest career touchdown total (41) and seventh all-time in rushing with 3,413 yards.
Best surprise: The coaches probably didn't envision Patrick Butrym being a key cog on the defensive line for two Rose Bowl teams.
Biggest bust: Quincy Landingham was probably the biggest bust, but it would have been interesting to see what he could have accomplished had he stayed at safety. Others likes James Stallons and Jasper Grimes were not Big Ten caliber players.
Wanted to see more from: Otis Merril tore his labrum and missed his entire freshman season. He transferred soon after to Illinois State, where he was an all-Missouri Valley second-team selection as a senior. Merrill wound up in the Packers' rookie camp the following summer.
Rivals.com class recruiting rank: No. 34
States represented (9): Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, Colorado and New York.
Decommitted: Brandon Brooks (Miami of Ohio), C.J. Peake (Louisville)
Transferred: James Stallons (Grand Valley State), Jasper Grimes (Eastern Michigan), Otis Merrill (Illinois State), Mario Goins (West Texas A&M), Zach Brown (Pittsburgh), Quincy Landingham (Miami of Ohio) and Daven Jones (Eastern Kentucky).
NFL Draft Picks: *JJ Watt, **Russell Wilson, Nick Toon
First-Team All-Americans: Watt
*JJ Watt transferred from Central Michigan to Wisconsin.
*Russell Wilson transferred from N.C. State to Wisconsin.
LAST THOUGHT
Bret Bielema's first full recruiting cycle as head coach at Wisconsin featured three monster recruits from inside the state and a handful of other prospects sprinkled across the Midwest and south Florida. Prolific recruiters Henry Mason and Dave Doeren flexed their muscles in Ohio and the Sunshine State, respectively, and gave UW recruiting fans something to look forward to in the classes to follow.
When looking back at the 2007 class, attrition was better compared to 2006, though there were misses at quarterback, defensive tackle, wide receiver and cornerback. Overall, this group was awfully successful, as most played in two Rose Bowls during their final seasons at Wisconsin.
