With official visits right around the corner, BadgerBlitz.com will be bringing you snapshots in the current recruiting 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 came off the board.
As always, this is just a snapshot in time and things remain fluid. Additional offered targets will appear over the next few weeks and some recruits will inevitably choose other colleges.
Today, we continue with a look at the offensive linemen.
QUICK OFFENSIVE LINE BREAKDOWN
Wisconsin has five scholarship seniors - all of whom are expected to be in the two-deep - on the current roster. But the position group isn't a huge need in the 2026 recruiting class due to the high school work position coach A.J. Blazek did over the previous two cycles. UW's biggest question heading into the summer: who takes over at left tackle? With Kevin Heywood out due to injury, Davis Heinzen, Leyton Nelson and Joe Brunner (potential move from guard to tackle) are all options for the coaching staff.
On the recruiting front, the Badgers are likely looking for one more lineman after landing Benjamin Novak, a projected guard, and Maddox Cochrane, a likely tackle, earlier this cycle. Adding a second tackle makes sense, but Blazek is casting a wide net going into officials.
COMMITTED 2026 OFFENSIVE LINE PROSPECTS
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."
Wisconsin offered Maddox Cochrane, 6-foot-7 and 285 pounds, in March of 2024 and hosted him for the first time in late April. Cochrane racked up offers from Florida State, Kentucky, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Fores and West Virginia, among others, prior to his commitment. He was set to see Duke, Virginia Tech and Rutgers officially in June. Instead, Cochrane will take his lone official to UW during the weekend of May 29.
"People say you just get that feeling and I’ve been to a lot of colleges," Cochrane told BadgerBlitz.com. "It was just different here and I couldn’t resist the feeling. I connected with the coaches really well and I know I can be developed there to be the best I can be. That’s very important to me and Wisconsin can get me there.
"I’ve been talking to Coach Blaz for over a year now. It’s been consistent and he’s put in a ton of effort to build that relationship. We’ve probably been on FaceTime or called at least two times a week for that whole time. He put in the most effort out of any other college coach. And even the effort from the other guys - Coach (Casey) Rabach and Coach (Zack) Heeman - I clicked really well with all of them and I can tell the guys respect them. That’s why they’re at the top of my list."
WHO TO WATCH IN JUNE
Jalayne Miller is unique because of his ability to play multiple positions along the offensive line. The three-star prospect from Arizona is coming off an official to Stanford, with Auburn and USC also firmly in the mix. Miller has yet to see Wisconsin in person.
Officials:
Stanford: 5/15/2025
Auburn: 5/30/2025
Wisconsin: 6/6/2025
USC: 6/20/2025
