With Wisconsin's 2025 recruiting class in the books, BadgerBlitz.com will be bringing you snapshots in the following cycle for each recruited position, covering the targets who are legitimate prospects on Wisconsin's board in the 2026 class. We will discuss the candidates who are most interested in the Badgers, as well as those who are considered long shots to commit to UW.

As always, this is just a snapshot in time and things remain fluid. Additional offered targets will appear over the next few months and some recruits will inevitably choose other colleges.

Today, we continue with a look at the offensive linemen.

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Multi-year starters Jack Nelson and Joe Huber are currently preparing for the NFL Draft. But the Badgers will bring back two key pieces in center Jake Renfro (sixth year) and right tackle Riley Mahlman (fifth year), both of whom announced their intentions earlier this month. With that, offensive line is likely a position Wisconsin will not need to address in the portal.

Mahlman and Renfro will be penciled into the starting lineup alongside left guard Joe Brunner. Freshman Kevin Heywood, who burned his redshirt in 2024, is the likely pick to take over at left tackle, though he will be pushed by both Leyton Nelson and Barrett Nelson. Veteran J.P. Benzschawel could slide in for Huber at left guard, but youngsters such as Emerson Mandell and Colin Cubberly will also battle for reps this spring. Ryan Cory and Joey Okla are back-up options for Renfro at center.

In the 2025 cycle, Wisconsin signed five scholarship players. Three from that group -Michael Roeske, Nolan Davenport and Hardy Watts - will be on campus early for spring camp. In 2026, the Badgers have an early commitment from three-star junior Benjamin Novak.

Wisconsin offered Benjamin Novak, 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds, after a strong camp performance last June. The Badgers got him back on campus in July and again in early October. Novak chose UW over scholarships from Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Indiana, Louisville, Marshall, Toledo and Western Michigan.

"I knew it was Wisconsin right after my July unofficial visit," Novak told BadgerBlitz.com. "Getting around the coaches, getting around some of the players, getting around the weight room staff, I knew that was the perfect fit for me. The entire coaching staff, they're super enthusiastic and I knew that I wanted to be there because they want me, they loved me, and I felt like a brother. It felt like a brotherhood.

"My relationship with Coach (AJ) Blazek developed through a daily process. I always seemed to receive either a FaceTime, a text or a piece of the mail with an encouraging quote. Little stuff that made you feel wanted. Coach Blazek is a great coach and I got to witness that through his pre-game speech and post-game speech. He just knows how to coach offensive linemen. He's definitely a coach that you want to be around with a player's-first mentality. I respected and that's why I committed."

Evan Goodwin, an three-star junior from Arkansas, got his first look at Wisconsin in late June. The projected tackle returned for UW's showdown against No. 1 Oregon under the lights at Camp Randall.

"We got there around noon we ate a ton of great food," Goodwin told BadgerBlitz.com. "Coach Blaz wanted us to spend some time with the current commits from 2025 and 2026 to get around them and network a little bit. I spent a lot of my day talking to new people like Ben Novak. As soon as the game started, it was ridiculous. The whole stadium erupted at kickoff and the student section was rowdy the whole time.

"Those guys told me they committed because of the school, the town, the players and the coaches. They told me that I should join them. And even though I'm keeping my options open right now, a lot of what they said is still fresh in my head. I am seriously considering Wisconsin."

At this point in his recruitment, Goodwin also lists offers from Arkansas, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M, among many others.