E.J. Whitlow's defensive line room in the 2025 recruiting class is back down to three scholarship commits.

Roughly one week after the Badgers landed tackle Drayden Pavey, news broke on Monday evening that Wilnerson Telemaque backed away from his pledge to UW. The 6-foot-6, 255-pound end from Florida originally committed to Wisconsin in June.

"It's always been a dream to play Big Ten football," Telemaque told Rivals.com in a previous interview. "I had a great connection with the staff and coach (Luke) Fickell, being a D-line guy, really impressed me.

"I knew last Thursday they were the pick. I told coach (E.J.) Whitlow first and surprised Fickell with the news when we were on the phone."

Telemaque's status with the Badgers was less than solid this fall. The three-star prospect from Monsignor Pace talked about taking officials to Colorado and Minnesota. Texas A&M was also connected to Telemaque in recent weeks.

"Speaking of Colorado looking into Big Ten recruits, the Wisconsin commitment is another it has its eyes on in the Sunshine State. Not only has communication with the Buff staff picked up here, but Telemaque tells Rivals an official visit to Boulder is all but set for later this season (date still to be determined after a recent scheduling conflict). Other programs are also working on the Badger pledge, including another potential official visit destination with the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the works. Telemaque is a teammate of new Colorado commitment Branch at Miami Northwestern."

The next program that lands Telemaque will get a high-upside athlete with a frame to add plenty of weight and strength, according to Anthony Walker, the head coach at Monsignor Pace.

"It's going to be scary to see what he looks like once he gets into a college weight room and a nutrition program," Walker told BadgerBlitz.com. "I can see him growing and developing into a guy who can slide inside if you need him to. He will be able to carry a lot of weight and his versatility will help him a lot at the next level.

"It's a no-brainer that he can get up there in weight, and he'll be able to carry good weight. He will still be able to move around in the trenches, and I think that will be easy for Will to do."

The Badgers now have 23 scholarship commitments in the 2025 class. From that group, three are projected defensive linemen: Pavey, Torin Pettaway and Xavier Ukponu.

"Telemaque is an impressive two-way lineman who has long been considered a Power 4 level recruit in south Florida. His immense height, checking in at a legitimate 6-foot-6, 258 pounds with a staggering 7-foot wingspan at the Rivals Camp Series stop in Miami back in April, has often brought up positional questions. He has experience at offensive tackle as well as up and down the defensive line, where he prefers to play despite strong floors on either side of the ball.

"What is not questioned with Telemaque, however, is his competitive edge and motor no matter where he lines up. He can work relentlessly on the outside or inside, with that great extension and rock solid lower-body power to boot. When he is able to focus on one spot in college, especially in the Big Ten, we expect to see a relatively quick body transformation as well as a quick assimilation into the defensive line room. If all things click, Telemaque could be the anchor of a defensive line unit down the line."

-Rivals.com National Analyst John Garcia Jr.

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