In what was Gary Andersen's first full recruiting cycle at Wisconsin, the Class of 2014 was a huge group for the Badgers. UW signed 26 scholarship athletes, which, along with the 2008 class, was tied for the most during the Rivals.com era.
"Continuing to branch out is important," Andersen said on Signing Day. "We're never going to forget where we're built from, and our foundation is built right here, and that will never change in the state of Wisconsin and in the Midwest in general.
"But our ability to reach out … we can get into any living room, we can walk into any school. People understand the Motion W. They're not guessing where you're coming from when you walk in the door, and that gives us the ability to walk in."
While the number was high on Signing Day, a good chunk of this class had their respective careers at Wisconsin cut short due to various reasons and circumstances.
Continuing our series: As Wisconsin fans count down the days before the start of fall camp, we look back at the 2014 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 | Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2012 | Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2013 |
Despite having a poor reputation for recruiting in-state prospects, credit Andersen for identifying and flipping Beau Benzschawel, who turned into a multi-year starter for the Badgers. A one-time Syracuse pledge, Benzschawel quickly switched his commitment to UW just after his senior season at Grafton. Both of his younger brothers, Luke Benzschawel and JP Benzschawel, followed in his footsteps.
At Wisconsin, Benzschawel made 49 consecutive starts, including 43 straight at right guard from 2015-2018. He was the third offensive lineman in school history to repeat as a first-team All-American, joining Dennis Lick (1974-75) and Joe Thomas (2005-06).
Rivals Re-Ranking: ****
Putting all the legal issues that came after his commitment aside, Dominic Cizauskas was one of the most dominant football players to ever come out of the state of Wisconsin. Recruiting-wise, Cizauskas, at 6-foot-1 and 250 pounds, ran a 4.6-second 40-yard dash at the Badgers' camp. He was offered on the spot and committed within 24 hours. The former three-star prospect never enrolled at UW due to a sexual assault conviction.
Rivals Re-Ranking: Incomplete
Andersen made four-star running back Taiwan Deal a top priority for the Badgers in the 2014 recruiting class. A standout from DeMatha High School in Maryland, Deal chose Wisconsin over scholarships from Iowa, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Maryland, among others. At Wisconsin, Deal battled injuries but played in 28 games with three starts at running back. He rushed for 1,212 yards and 11 touchdowns on 231 carries in Madison.
Rivals Re-Ranking: **
Michael Dieter, who chose Wisconsin over Nebraska and Georgia Tech, racked up plenty of collegiate honors: first-team All-America, according to FWAA and The Athletic; and second-team All-America by AFCA, AP, Sporting News, Walter Camp and College Football News. But maybe most impressive stat: Deiter started all 54 games of his career, a school record and No. 2 all-time among Big Ten players. A two-time consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection, Deiter was the No. 78 overall pick in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins.
Rivals Re-Ranking: ****
During his recruitment, D'Cota Dixon chose Wisconsin over offers from Illinois, Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, North Carolina State and South Florida, among others. At UW, Dixon started at corner but then worked briefly at middle linebacker. Later on, though, he found a home at safety, where Dixon made 32 career starts. In total, Dixon recorded 177 total tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles.
Rivals Re-Ranking: ***
Credit Wisconsin's evaluation of TJ Edwards, a lightly-recruited prospect from Illinois who gave a commitment to Western Michigan in the summer of 2013. The prep quarterback was recruited by assistant coach Jeff Genyk, who offered and quickly flipped Edwards' commitment. This made for an interesting storyline when the Badgers played P.J. Fleck and the Broncos in the 2017 Cotton Bowl.
At Wisconsin, Edwards played in 53 games and made 52 starts at inside linebacker. In 2017, he was a Butkus Award finalist and first-team All-America (AP, ESPN, USA Today).
Rivals Re-Ranking: ****
Lubern Figaro's recruitment boiled down to Wisconsin and Michigan State. UW had a connection in this recruitment with Figaro being from the same high school as Jakarrie Washington, who was a freshman at Wisconsin at the time of his commitment. As a Badger, Figaro played in 50 games with 11 starts.
Rivals Re-Ranking: ***
Jaden Gault, a US Army Bowl All-American, was a heavily-recruited offensive tackle from nearby Monona Grove High School. During his recruitment, the four-star prospect racked up offers from Ohio State, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan State and Nebraska, among others. But after signing with the Badgers in the 2014 class, Gault took a leave of absence from the program due to mental health issues. He never returned to UW or college football.
Rivals Re-Ranking: Incomplete
The Badgers had a need at kicker in the 2014 class, and Rafael Gaglianone, a native of Brazil who attended school in Tennessee, filled that in the 2014 class. At Wisconsin, Gaglianone played in 56 games, the third-most in school history. He connected on school-record 70 field goals, going 70-for-92 during his career.
Rivals Re-Ranking: ***
Wisconsin actually had a commitment from quarterback in the 2014 class from Chance Stewart, who committed early to then-head coach Bret Bielema. But Andersen didn't have much use for a pro-style signal caller, and the two sides eventually parted ways. D.J. Gillins, who had a big arm and better legs, was a much better fit for Andersen's vision. And in the summer of 2013, the four-star prospect committed to UW over Boston College, Arizona and Georgia Tech, among others. When Paul Chryst took over the program early in his career at UW, Gillins made a switch to receiver and later transferred. He then made stops at Pearl River Community College (2016), SMU (2017) and UTSA (2018).
Rivals Re-Ranking: **
At the time of his commitment, in-state lineman Billy Hirschfeld also held offers from Illinois, Michigan State, Nebraska and Pittsburgh, among others. As a Badger, Hirschfeld played in 25 games and recorded seven tackles. It would have been interesting to see how things would have played out had Hirschfeld started at offensive tackle, a position some within the Arrowhead program thought was a better fit at the next level.
Rivals Re-Ranking: **
For as effective as Thomas Hammock was as a recruiter, Caleb Kinlaw probably falls in the misevaluation pile, despite being heavily recruited out of high school. The three-star prospect was supposed to be the lightning to Taiwan Deal's thunder, but that just never happened at Wisconsin. Kinlaw left UW and then walked on at South Carolina.
Rivals Re-Ranking: **
During Dave Aranda's recruiting rounds in Florida, he came across Austin Hudson, a lightly-recruited safety from powerhouse Plant High School. Things moved quickly, as the Badgers got him on campus for camp, offered and then picked up his commitment a few days later. Hudson played in all 14 games as a true freshman but transferred to South Florida the following season. He made one more switch to Oregon State, where he was reunited with Andersen.
Rivals Re-Ranking: **
A Florida native who was viewed as a wide receiver during his recruitment, Natrell Jamerson had mostly FCS offers before he was spotted by Wisconsin during his senior season. Andersen always kept his eye open for speed, and Jamerson certainly had those qualities. At Wisconsin, Jameson began at receiver before he moved to cornerback (2015 and 2016) and then safety in 2017. He played in 47 games with 16 starts and was selected by New Orleans in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Rivals Re-Ranking: ***
Chris Jones, who chose the Badgers over Iowa, Maryland and Nebraska, among others, signed with Wisconsin but had academic issues and never enrolled. He landed at Toledo and then later transferred to Maryland, where he was reunited with Chris Beatty, who recruited Jones to Wisconsin.
Rivals Re-Ranking: **
Defensive line coach Chad Kauha'aha'a served as the lead contact for Micah Kapoi, who flipped from Hawaii to Wisconsin late in the 2013 cycle. At Wisconsin, Kapoi played in 49 games with 14 starts.
Rivals Re-Ranking: ***
Jacob Maxwell suited up in the WIAA Division 3 against Monona Grove at Camp Randall Stadium committed to Northern Illinois. But with Andersen on hand to watch long-time commit Jaden Gault, the offensive tackle from Greendale burst onto Wisconsin's radar. It didn't take long for Maxwell to flip his commitment to the Badgers. At UW, Maxwell played in 18 games with 10 starts at right tackle but his career was cut short due to injury.
Rivals Re-Ranking: ***
The son of former Wisconsin lineman and team captain Joe Panos, George Panos seemed destined to play for the Badgers. Bielema offered during the spring game in April of 2012 and Panos jumped on that scholarship. Arkansas, Florida State and Miami also came in with offers, and Panos actually took two other official visits during the fall of 2013 to North Carolina State and Notre Dame. But with his ties to the program, Panos' pledge to Wisconsin never seemed in doubt despite the coaching transition. At UW, Panos played for two seasons before a right shoulder injury cut his career short.
Rivals Re-Ranking: Incomplete
We'll clump Jeremy Patterson and Krenwick Sanders together because the two were from the same high school, had similar recruitments and almost identical careers at Wisconsin. The hype train was operating on all cylinders, and it was hard not to buy into Sanders, a one-time Georgia commit, and Patterson, who looked an SEC defensive tackle. Florida even made a late push for the duo from Wayne County in Georgia, but the Badgers, led by Hammock, signed both in 2014.
At Wisconsin, Sanders played in nine total games as a true freshman before he redshirted the following year. In 2016, he transferred to Jacksonville State. Patterson played in just four games over three seasons in Madison.
Rivals Re-Rankings: **
There was always some buzz about the Badgers in George Rushing's recruitment despite his pledge to Louisville. As the process wore on, Wisconsin capitalized on Charlie Strong's move from Louisville to Texas after the 2013 season. In the end, Rushing chose UW over TCU just hours before he signed in February of 2014. As a Badger, Rushing participated in 39 games with one start at wide receiver. He played his final year of eligibility at Buffalo.
Rivals Re-Ranking: **
Charlie Partridge had two really good in-state defensive linemen at camp in June of 2012. That summer, the Badgers sent offers out to Craig Evans of Sun Prairie and Conor Sheehy of Marquette, both of whom (at the time) just finished up their sophomore year of high school. With Sheehy, Michigan made things interesting for a while, but the three-star prospect never really wavered from his pledge. At UW, Sheehy played in 54 games with 33 starts. He racked up 95 tackles, including 13.5 TFLs and 6.0 sacks
Rivals Re-Ranking: ***
Flying a kid from Florida up to Wisconsin in the middle of January is always interesting, but an official visit just days before Signing Day did the trick for Derrick Tindal. The Badgers were able to flip the two-star prospect from Indiana, and Tindal played above his ranking in Madison. Tindal participated in 52 games with 34 starts and was a third-team All-Big Ten (coaches) pick as a senior.
Rivals Re-Ranking: ***
With Andersen fully settled in at Wisconsin, recruiting writers and fans quickly found out what programs in Utah produced the best talent. East High School in Salt Lake City, the home of Ula Tolutau, was one of them.
Like Austin Kafentzis in the 2015 class, Tolutau was a "must have" for Andersen in this cycle. And like Kafentzis, the gaudy numbers - Tolutau rushed for 2,465 yards as a senior - were eye popping but didn't necessarily lead to production at the college level. Tolutau, who was Andersen's first out-of-state commitment at Wisconsin, went on a mission through his church after he graduated and landed at BYU.
Rivals Re-Ranking: Incomplete
Serge Trezy, who reportedly ran a 4.29 40-yard dash, committed to Wisconsin in December of 2012. He was recruited by assistant coach Bill Busch, who seemed to be the point man for many of UW's JUCO targets during that time. At Wisconsin, Trezy started at running back but moved to corner during his final season. He played in 18 career games.
Rivals Re-Ranking: **
Dareian Watkins falls in Wisconsin's "what if" category after only staying with the program for a few weeks during the summer of 2014. During his recruitment, the Badgers were able to flip his commitment from Northwestern and expectations for high for the Rivals250 prospect. As a senior, Watkins played quarterback for Galion High School in Ohio and passed for 1,456 yards and 18 touchdowns and also ran for 1,287 yards and 17 scores.
Rivals Re-Ranking: Incomplete
SUPERLATIVES
Top recruit: Deiter, but Edwards and Benzschawel were a close second.
Best surprise: Ryan Connelly is an easy pick here. The former walk-on played in 52 games with 26 starts at inside linebacker.
Biggest bust: Patterson just couldn't keep the weight off. And for as much hype as he commanded, there was zero production.
Wanted to see more from: We never got to see Watkins, Gault, Cizauskas, Tolutau or Jones, and injuries shortened careers for a few others. So for this category, I'll go with Hudson, who played in all 14 games as a true freshman before he transferred.
Top walk-ons: Zander Neuville, Ryan Connelly
Rivals.com class recruiting rank: No. 33
States represented (12): Wisconsin, Maryland, Florida, Ohio, Georgia, Utah, Arizona, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Hawaii and Massachusetts.
Decommitted: Rohan Blackwood (South Florida), Joe Keels (Nebraska), Craig Evans (Michigan State), Chance Stewart (Western Michigan).
Transferred: Gillins (JUCO/SMU), Sanders (Jacksonville State), Jeremy Patterson (Tennessee State), *Jones (Toledo), Kinlaw (South Carolina), Rushing (Buffalo), **Cizauskas (JUCO/Glenville State), ***Tolutau (BYU) andHudson (South Florida).
*Jones never enrolled due to grades.
**Cizauskas never enrolled due to legal issues.
***Tolutau never enrolled after his church mission.
NFL Draft Picks: *Nick Nelson, Jamerson, Deiter, Connelly
First-Team All-Americans: Benzschawel, Deiter, Edwards
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