MADISON, Wis. – There are a lot of things on Luke Fickell’s immediate to-do list, the first of which was flying back to Cincinnati for roughly 18 hours to get his affairs in order before starting to move into the head football coach’s office at the University of Wisconsin.
The first is to get on the phone and reach out to his inherited committed prospects to tell them they are still welcome in his program.
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“Those guys are our number one priority,” Fickell said Monday. “Those guys are the ones whose lives are in a little bit of disarray. The great thing about the University of Wisconsin, those guys might have been attracted here because of a relationship with a guy, they are going to be here about what Wisconsin is, because of the school, because of the athletic program, because of the history.”
Unfortunately for Fickell, there won’t be many phone calls to make to assure the 2023 class that Wisconsin is still the right spot for them.
Recruiting has gone backward since Paul Chryst was fired on October 2 and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard was passed over for the permanent position Sunday. The Badgers have added just one prospect and have seen five players de-commit: three-star wide receivers Collin Dixon (undecided) and Trech Kekahuna (undecided), three-star defensive tackles Jamel Howard (undecided) and Roderick Pierce (undecided) and four-star offensive lineman Chris Terek (Notre Dame).
The class sits today at nine players: three defensive backs, two running backs, one quarterback, one offensive lineman, one defensive end, and one linebacker.
A year after Wisconsin’s 21-person signing class ranked No.14 by Rivals, the best final ranking it has achieved in the last 20+ years, the Badgers currently rank No.77 nationally and 13th in the Big Ten, ahead of only Indiana.
“We’re excited about getting on the road and go out and see those guys and build a relationship,” Fickell said. “We hope we can sustain every single one of those guys.”
Fickell alluded that when he returns to Madison Tuesday he’ll be bringing two people from his recruiting operations in Cincinnati. Multiple reports suggest those are Cincinnati Director of Recruiting Pat Lambert and Director of Recruiting Strategy Max Stienecker.
The Bearcats have had the top recruiting class in the American Athletic Conference the last three years and are projected to again this year, with most classes signing between 19 and 25 athletes. Those three classes have ranked (in reverse order) 44th, 38th, and 39th with four-star athletes in each one.
“There is nothing, to me, that’s more important than to get in house and as soon as possible what we’re going to do in the strength program and what we’re going to do in the recruiting program,” Fickell said. “To me, those are two of the life bloods to how we’ve built things and how I believe the future needs to continue to grow.”
With a plethora of scholarships to hand out, and most of the top players off the board, Fickell and his bare-bones staff have some familiar names they can call. Four high school seniors who were committed to Cincinnati have de-committed since Fickell’s decision, all fitting a gap in UW’s current class: Tennessee three-star receiver Ayden Greene (No.56 ranked WR), Florida three-star cornerback Jonas Duclona (34 offers), Michigan four-star cornerback Amare Snowden (No.226 prospect nationally), and Detroit four-star tight end Khamari Anderson (No.15 ranked TE). Ohio athlete Trevor Carter has reopened his recruitment but said he’s remaining committed for now.
Fickell, who compiled a 63-25 record at Cincinnati, understands he is under a time crunch. The transfer portal window opens on December 5 and the first day for the high school early signing period is December 21.
“There’s always work to be done, and I think that’s what excited you about (being) a coach,” Fickell said. “You can be at any program, and you aren’t where you want to be. There’s one program at the end of the year where they want to be and they have got a lot of work to be to repeat to what they’re doing. It’s the uniqueness of what it is that we choose to do.
“I’ll tell you this, and you'll probably hear for it every year at the beginning of the year, we have one objective and one goal and that’s play for a championship … You have an opportunity in this league. If you are playing for a championship, amazing things can happen. You just got to stay focused and know that’s what it comes down to.”
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