Wisconsin's 2012 recruiting class was the final one under head coach Bret Bielema, who left for Arkansas in December of that year. It was a cycle limited in scholarships, with just six members who were still on the roster as a fifth-year seniors.

On Signing Day, Bielema said he spent just two days in Madison while he locked up the 2012 class and worked to replace assistant coaches Paul Chryst, Bob Bostad, Joe Rudolph, Dave Huxtable, DelVaughn Alexander and DeMontie Cross.

"It's been a little insanity," Bielema said on Signing Day. "To walk out of that locker room in Pasadena was not an easy deal. To see our kids the next day, just a tough 24 hours. But there isn't time to mope around for the people that want to do so.

"I can't say enough about my staff and the way they just kind of pulled the belt a little bit tighter and strapped it on and got after things. I do think, though, if it had been another 10 guys we had to keep track of, it wouldn't have been good."

Continuing our series: As Wisconsin fans count down the days before the start of fall camp, we look back at the 2012 recruiting class and re-rank each player based on their careers at UW.

RELATED: Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2006 | Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2007 | Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2008 | Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2009 | Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2010 | Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2011 |

U.S. Army All-American Bowl participant Vince Biegel was heavily recruited out of high school, particularly from BYU, where his father, Rocky, played. The former four-star prospect had an excellent career at Wisconsin, where he matched a school record by playing in 54 games with 40 starts. Biegel finished his career ranked No. 7 all-time at UW with 21.5 sacks and No. 10 with 39.5 tackles for loss. He was drafted in Round 4 of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ****

Kansas, West Virginia and Wake Forest were all involved with Hugs Etienne coming out of high school, but the Badgers earned his commitment in November of 2011. The South Florida standout enrolled early at Wisconsin in hopes of jump-starting his college career. But the three-star cornerback never got going at UW due to injuries. Etienne took a medical scholarship in the summer of 2014.

Rivals Re-Ranking: Incomplete

Pittsburgh native Arthur Goldberg earned a scholarship at Wisconsin's summer camp and committed to the Badgers over an offer from the hometown Panthers. Versatility was his top attribute, as Goldberg had the ability to play both nose guard and end in UW's 3-4 scheme. Goldberg started a total of 14 games and played in 25 contests over his last two seasons but was forced to give up football due to head injuries.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

A standout from powerhouse De La Salle in California, Bart Houston, who was recruited by offensive coordinator Paul Chryst, picked Wisconsin overs offers from UCLA, Washington, Arizona and Colorado, among others. Reunited once again with Chryst during his time as a head coach, Houston went out on a high note as a senior after he led UW to a Cotton Bowl win over Western Michigan.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Breakdown: Melvin Gordon's prep teammate at Kenosha Bradford, Vonte Jackson was ready for the spotlight as a senior but tore his ACL in the Red Devils' season opener. Unfortunately, Jackson, who was the first running back UW offered in the 2012 class, suffered two more knee injuries at Wisconsin and underwent three surgical procedures in hopes of continuing his football career. But in August of 2014, Jackson was forced to give up his battle due to yet another knee injury. During his recruitment, Jackson, who was recruited by position coach Thomas Hammock, chose UW over offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota, among others.

Rivals Re-Ranking: Incomplete

Reggie Love jumped on a late offer from Wisconsin and picked the Badgers over scholarships from Boston College, Georgia State, Middle Tennessee State and UCF. At UW, Love flashed at points during spring and fall camps but played in just 32 games with three starts. He had seven catches for 89 yards for the Badgers.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Wisconsin lost commitments from J.J. Denman and Kyle Dodson in this class and needed an offensive lineman late in the 2012 cycle. With that, UW snagged a commitment from Jake Meador just hours before Singing Day. The massive tackle from Indiana also took official visits to Florida, Missouri, Mississippi and Indiana before he selected the Badgers. His career in Madison, though, was short-lived, as Meador left the program after one year due to back injuries.

Rivals Re-Ranking: Incomplete

Lightly recruited coming out of high school, Reggie Mitchell picked up his offer from UW in the summer of 2011 after a strong camp performance. He was a projected starter after spring camp in 2013 but opted to transfer to Pittsburgh. Mitchell started all 13 games for the Panthers in 2014 but was limited to just six games and two starting assignments as a junior due to a foot injury. In his final season, Mitchell played in all 13 games and started four contests at strong safety.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

A highly-productive running back at Waunakee High School in Wisconsin, Leo Musso (5,531 yards and 93 career total touchdowns) switched to safety at UW. As a senior in 2016, Musso earned his fourth letter and started all 14 games at safety with a team-high five interceptions.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

D.J. Singleton was a huge get for Wisconsin out of powerhouse St. Peter's Prep in New Jersey. Tennessee, Michigan, Nebraska, Michigan State and Miami all extended offers during his recruitment. Singleton signed with the Badgers in February of 2012 but did not qualify academically and wound up at Union Community College. By then, Bielema left for Arkansas and Singleton landed at Nebraska the following year.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Eric Steffes, an in-state standout from Fond Du Lac, actually signed as a greyshirt in the 2011 class. At Wisconsin, Steffes played in 39 games with seven starts. He caught 10 passes for 84 yards and one career touchdown.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Wisconsin doesn't typically recruit the state of Washington, but the Badgers were able to locate and land Walker Williams, who stuck with his pledge to UW despite a late offer from Ohio State. Expectations were very high, but Williams struggled mightily as a starter (seven games) in 2015. He left the team that off-season due to head injuries.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Dan Voltz was likely the most heavily recruited prospect in UW's 2012 class with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, Notre Dame and Stanford, among many others. Heading into his senior season, Voltz had started 27 games at center and was an Outland Trophy watch list pick during the preseason in 2016. But at the end of fall camp, Voltz announced his retirement from football due to injuries.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ****

Top recruit: Biegel turned out to be the best scholarship signee in this class. But Joe Schobert, a former walk-on, was probably the top college player in this cycle, overall.

Best surprise: This has to be Schobert, who was headed to North Dakota just hours before UW snagged him that summer. The former Waukesha (WI) West standout was a first-team All-American, according to FWAA and ESPN, and a second-team All-American by the AP, Walter Camp, Sporting News and USA Today.

Biggest bust: Williams was a pretty heavily-recruited prospect from the West Coast, but he didn't move well enough to play tackle and was overmatched at guard.

Wanted to see more from: People in Kenosha will tell you that Jackson had just as much talent in high school as Gordon. Knee injuries, though, destroyed his playing career.

Top walk-ons: Joe Schobert, Dare Ogunbowale, Trent Denlinger

Rivals.com class recruiting rank: No. 57

States represented (8): Wisconsin, Illinois, California, Florida, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana

Decommitted: Kyle Dodson (Ohio State), J.J. Denman (Rutgers)

Transferred: Mitchell (Pittsburgh), Singleton (failed to qualify academically - ended up at Nebraska)

NFL Draft Picks: Schobert, Vince Biegel, *Ryan Ramczyk

First-Team All-Americans: Schobert, Ramczyk

*A member of the 2012 recruiting class, Ramczyk transferred from UW-Stevens Point to Wisconsin.

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