Wisconsin's 2008 class was big in numbers and featured three four-star prospects. But it was also a cycle that produced a good deal of misses, as 10 members from the group didn't finish their playing careers at UW for various reasons.

Continuing in our series: As Wisconsin fans count down the days before fall camp opens, we look back at the 2008 recruiting class and re-rank each player based on their careers at UW.

RELATED: Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2006 | Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2007 |

Wisconsin flipped Eriks Briedis from UConn and there was a thought that Dave Doeren found a sleeper prospect from Florida. But Briedis was never more than a reserve defensive lineman and he left the team prior to the start of his senior season.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Wisconsin doesn't often recruit in Arkansas, but Jake Byrne's family was originally from the state and Bielema capitalized on that situation. Byrne, who managed type 1 diabetes while playing, had a solid four-year career in Madison as an in-line tight end. He floated around the NFL for a few seasons after graduation as well.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Kevin Claxton was another huge get for Doeren in south Florida. The big-time safety was supposed to come in and be a key contributor early in his career. But Claxton was moved to linebacker midway through his time in Madison and was a starter as a senior. Claxton likely didn't live up to the most lofty expectations, but he still had a nice career at Wisconsin.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Texas A&M, Iowa and Kansas were after Marcus Cromartie, though Kerry Cooks was able to bring him to Wisconsin. Like fellow Texas native Shelton Johnson, Cromartie had a solid career in Madison and got a shot in the NFL after his graduation.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Jake Current, who was recruited by Bob Palcic before he moved to UCLA, was probably a touch undersized for what position coach Bob Bostad wanted to do on the offensive line. He never played a ton of meaningful reps at Wisconsin but stayed the course and graduated from UW.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Zach Davison's offer from Wisconsin was always a bit curious. Wyoming was his only other scholarship at the time but the Badgers locked him up in the summer of 2007. Davison redshirted in 2008 and did not play at all the following two years. Injuries forced Davison to step away from football but he stayed with the team under a medical scholarship until his graduation.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Antonio Fenelus, who was recruited by Doeren, was a late addition to the 2008 class out of south Florida. UW was his lone Power 5 offer and the two-star prospect jumped at the chance to play for the Badgers. Looking back, Fenelus exceeded his star ranking and the stigma surrounding last-minute additions. In 52 collegiate games, Fenelus made 32 starts with 155 tackles and nine interceptions. He was also a first-team All-Big Ten selection as a senior and is currently on staff at Illinois.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

There was quite a bit of mystery surrounding Christopher Garner, a very late addition to the 2008 class. Little was known about the in-state offensive lineman prior to Signing Day and Wisconsin fans never really found out much more. Just days before the start of fall camp (2008), Bielema announced Garner, “won’t be with us this fall or probably any time in the future."

Rivals Re-Ranking: Incomplete

Leonard Hubbard, who had a number of offers from across the Midwest, was supposed to be a hard-hitting inside linebacker for Wisconsin. But after falling as low as fourth-string on the depth chart in 2009, Hubbard elected to transfer to Illinois State prior to the start of spring camp in 2010.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Shelton Johnson committed to Wisconsin in July of 2007, but the Badgers had to fight off a late push by Louisville to hang onto his pledge. He was a steady safety and two-year starter for UW, seeing action in 46 career games with 23 starts. Johnson outperformed his star rating coming out of high school.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Wisconsin fans were looking forward to adding Dex Jones, who could play either tailback or fullback, to the backfield. But Jones redshirted his first season and then transferred to Western Michigan the following year, where he was moved to linebacker.

Rivals Re-Ranking: Incomplete

During his recruitment, Wisconsin was able to flip Brendan Kelly from the in-state Gophers. The former three-star prospect was actually a rare (at the time) sixth-year player for the Badgers and he started 22 games over his final three seasons. Overall, Kelly battled injuries but was able to have a solid career in Madison.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

A four-star prospect out of Neenah, Peter Konz started his career at Wisconsin as a defensive lineman. Luckily for the staff, they elected to move Konz back over to offense and he was a first-team Freshman All-American by The Sporting News. Thirty-two starts later, Konz was named first-team All-American by AFCA and Pro Football Weekly in 2011. The Atlanta Falcons selected Konz in the second round (55th pick overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ****

Anthony Mains had an intriguing frame and very solid offer list coming out of high school, and the Badgers landed the three-star prospect after official visits to Stanford and Central Florida. After a redshirt season, Mains didn't play much the following year and was not on the fall roster to start camp of 2010. He joined the team when the roster expanded after camp but was never a big contributor for the Badgers.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

One of the few junior college additions during Bielema's time in Madison, Daniel Moore came to Wisconsin from Joliet Junior College in Illinois. Moore played his role well and gave the Badgers the depth they needed at defensive tackle during his two years of eligibility.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Bradley Nortman was committed to Minnesota before Wisconsin came in with an offer. That turned out to be a very smart decision, as the standout from Brookfield Central was UW's starting punter since his freshman season. After his graduation, Nortman ranked third in school history with a career punting average of 42.1 yards per punt and sat fourth in UW history with 8,383 career punting yards. Nortman went on to the NFL and played in the Super Bowl with the Carolina Panthers.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Curt Phillips was supposed to be the quarterback of the future for Wisconsin. The former four-star prospect from Tennessee, for his career, had 5,418 passing yards, 3,788 rushing yards and 115 career touchdowns (64 rushing, 51 passing), and expectations were through the roof prior to his arrival in Madison.

Phillips redshirted in 2008 and played in five games the following year. But knee injuries/surgeries kept him from playing in 2010 and 2011, and Phillips was never the same since. He was granted a sixth season of eligibility and earned his third letter in 2013, playing in three games. Overall, it's amazing Phillips bounced back from ACL injures so many times and was able to finish a playing career with the Badgers.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

During his recruitment, Stanford, Minnesota, Missouri and Northwestern all offered Joe Schafer, who selected Wisconsin in the summer of 2007. In the end, though, he had trouble climbing the depth chart and left Wisconsin early.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Wisconsin beat out Iowa, Oklahoma State and Baylor for Devin Smith's services. The Texas standout had a very solid career at UW with 30 career starts, including all 14 as a senior in 2012. In that season, Smith was also a second team All-Big Ten selection by the media and honorable mention All-Big Ten by the coaches. A three-star rating seemed very appropriate looking back.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Erik Smith started the 2009 season as the Badgers' third-string back behind Zach Brown and John Clay. But he was supplanted on the depth chart by true freshman Montee Ball by the Minnesota game on Oct. 3 and only played in two games the rest of the season. Smith announced his transfer to Illinois State (along with Hubbard) in January of 2010.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Quite simply, Michael Taylor wasn't rated correctly out of high school and probably should have had more offers. Taylor, who fought through injuries all five years at Wisconsin, started 47 games as a Badger. A first-team All-Big Ten pick as a junior and senior, Taylor had 378 total tackles during his career at outside linebacker.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ****

Tyler Westphal, along with Konz and Phillips, was the highest-rated member of the 2008 class. He competed in the Under Armour All-American Bowl and expectations were high for Westphal when he arrived at UW. But injuries (shoulder) plagued his career in Madison and Westphal announced his transfer to North Dakota State prior to the start of spring camp in 2010. He enrolled at North Dakota State but after one week he left Fargo to join the Division III Oshkosh Titans.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

T.J. Williams ran a blistering 4.37-second 40-yard dash at the Badgers' summer camp and earned a scholarship offer. But he never did much at Wisconsin and transferred before the start of the 2010 season.

Rivals Re-Ranking: Incomplete

Wisconsin was able to keep Kevin Zeitler inside the state despite an offer from Michigan prior to his decision. The standout from Wisconsin Lutheran started 36 games as a Badger and was a first-team All-American by AFCA and Pro Football Weekly as a senior. Zeitler was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012 and was one of the top offensive linemen from the Bielema era.

Rivals Re-Ranking: *****

Top recruit: Zeitler is the top recruit due to his success at Wisconsin and first-round NFL Draft status.

Best surprise: I don't think the coaches were surprised, but Taylor had an excellent career, and he did most of it while fighting through various injuries.

Biggest bust: Hubbard was a big-time prospect from Illinois with a ton of offers. But he never did anything for the Badgers.

Wanted to see more from: A healthy Westphal would have been exciting to see. The shoulder injury, though, destroyed his playing career.

Top walk-on(s): Ricky Wagner and Bradie Ewing

Transferred: Dex Jones (Western Michigan), Leonard Hubbard (Illinois State), Joe Schafer (St. Thomas), Erik Smith (Illinois State) and Tyler Westphal (North Dakota State).

*Christopher Garner never enrolled at Wisconsin.

NFL Draft Picks: Peter Konz, Kevin Zeitler, Bradie Ewing, Brad Nortman, Ricky Wagner

First-Team All-Americans: Konz, Zeitler

Rivals.com class rank: No. 41

Bret Bielema - Head coach

Paul Chryst - Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks

Dave Doeren – Defensive Coordinator/linebackers

Bob Bostad – Offensive line/run game coordinator

Kerry Cooks – Defensive backs

Charlie Partridge - Defensive line/specialists

DelVaughn Alexander – Wide receivers

Randall McCray – Outside linebackers/recruiting coordinator

John Settle – Running backs

Joe Rudolph - Tight ends

_________________________________________________

*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den

*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel

*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)

*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @pete_brey12, @seamus_rohrer

*Like us on Facebook