The 2018 recruiting class was the first that allowed prospects the opportunity to sign during the early period in December. Head coach Paul Chryst brought in the No. 40 class in the country, a group that proved to be largely underwhelming.

"We treated (today) like it was the Signing Day and that was our message to everyone: Dec. 20 is our Signing Day," said Saeed Khalif, Director of Player Personnel. "Obviously our concerns were who didn't commit - a lot of these guy were committed since July - so if you didn't sign with us today, you were looking for something different or something better and we had to move on.

"They all showed they were really committed; this is where they wanted to be and they match what we are trying to do here."

Concluding our series: As Wisconsin fans count down the days before the start of fall camp, we look back at the 2018 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 | Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2014 | Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2015 | Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2016 | Recruiting Rewind: Class of 2017 |

West Bloomfield (MI) High School teammates A.J. Abbott and Taj Mustapha were big gets for position coach Ted Gilmore and the Badgers in June of 2017. Both had offers from the in-state Spartans, among others schools, during the course of their respective recruitments. At Wisconsin, however, each player failed to live up to their potential. Mustapha entered the transfer portal in 2021; Abbott did so the following year.

Rivals Re-Rankings: **

During his recruitment, Travian Blaylock narrowed his focus on two schools: Wisconsin and Stanford. He picked the Badgers in July of 2017, largely because of his relationship with assistant coach Jim Leonhard. During the recruiting process, Blaylock was projected to play cornerback before he transitioned to safety at UW. If Blaylock - who has played in 25 games over five seasons - can stay healthy this fall, he is in line for a big role on the defense. The sixth-year senior has a chance to leave Wisconsin on a high note after an injury-plagued career at UW.

Rivals Re-Ranking: TBD

Donte Burton, a one-time North Carolina pledge, chose Wisconsin over Notre Dame, Oregon, Louisville, Nebraska and Virginia Tech, among others. He spent four years at Wisconsin and played in 27 games with five starts at cornerback. Burton, however, struggled with consistency and transferred to Tulsa in the summer of 2022.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Aron Cruickshank, a heavily-recruited receiver and special teams threat from New York, was an intriguing weapon who played right away as a true freshman for the Badgers. After just two years, however, the former three-star prospect elected to transfer to Rutgers in order to be closer to home. In 2022, Cruickshank was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick and signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bears.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

In-state standout Boyd Dietzen, from powerhouse Kimberly High School, committed to Wisconsin just hours after the Badgers offered during a junior day visit. At the time, he also listed scholarships from Minnesota, Iowa State, North Dakota State, Syracuse and North Dakota State. As a Badger, Dietzen battled back issues and was not listed on the 2021 spring roster.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Jaylan Franklin took part in Wisconsin's camp on June 9. Three days later, the three-star senior committed to the Badgers over offers from Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Michigan State and Kentucky, among others. The staff originally pegged Franklin to play tight end, but he started at outside linebacker when he arrived on campus, only to move back to tight end later in his career at UW. Franklin played in 41 career games for the Badgers but is set to play this season at Michigan State.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

From the start, 2018 was expected to be a small offensive line class for the Badgers. Michael Furtney emerged as the top target that winter and committed in March of 2017. During his career at Wisconsin, Furtney has played in 44 games with 11 starts at right guard. This fall, he is expected to battle at the same spot with Joe Huber for a starting job in his sixth season with the program.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

The top player in the state of Wisconsin in the 2018 class, C.J. Goetz shut down his recruitment fairly early and committed to the Badgers in February of 2017. The former three-star prospect listed offers from Northern Illinois, Bowling Green and New Mexico, among others, during the time of his commitment. At Wisconsin, Goetz played in 33 games from 2019 to 2021. In 2022, he started all 13 contests at outside linebacker and made 62 tackles, including 8.0 TFLs and 2.0 sacks. Goetz is in line for starting reps heading into his sixth season this fall.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Speedster Isaac Guerendo was recruited to play receiver or defensive back for the Badgers. The three-star prospect's name surfaced on Wisconsin's radar after he recorded a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the Irish Invasion on June 11 (2017) - the fastest time at Notre Dame's camp. At UW, Guerendo started at wide out but moved to tailback later in his career. He was also a solid contributor on special teams. As the No. 3 option behind Braelon Allen and Chez Mellusi, Geurendo decided to transfer to Louisville for his final year of eligibility.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Isaiah Mullens was a three-star prospect from just outside of Columbus, Ohio. He listed offers from Iowa, Purdue, Rutgers and a host of Ohio schools in the MAC during the course of his recruitment. The hometown Buckeyes also showed some interest, but ultimately didn't offer. Mullens has been a solid contributor during his career but his 2022 season was derailed due to injury. He is set to return for a sixth season this fall and is expected to be a starter for the Badgers.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Reggie Pearson committed to Wisconsin over offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Iowa State, Miami of Ohio, Syracuse and Western Michigan in August of 2016. The three-star prospect remained rock-solid in his pledge and quickly turned into a leader amongst the other 2018 commits. Pearson played three years at Wisconsin and registered 65 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, four pass breakups and three forced fumbles during that span. He sat out the 2020 season due to an unspecified medical condition and transferred to Texas Tech in April of 2021.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Mason Platter had intriguing size as a potential outside linebacker in Wisconsin's 3-4 defense. Platter chose UW over an offer from Northern Illinois and interest from Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan and Minnesota, among others, during his recruiting process. After a redshirt season, Platter was not on the 2019 spring roster.

Rivals Re-Ranking: Incomplete

Cormac Sampson was initially recruited to play defensive end but the former three-star prospect moved to the offensive line, to tight end and back to the offensive line during his career at UW. Sampson made starts at center (three), guard (one) and blocking tight end (two) during his 32 games at UW. He elected not to return for a final season in July of 2022.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Jack Sanborn, who chose Wisconsin over offers from Duke, Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Northwestern and Vanderbilt, among others, was the highest-rated recruit the Badgers signed in the cycle. Roughly five years later, the former four-star prospect also proved to be the top player from this class during his career in Madison. Sanborn played in 45 games with 34 starts at inside linebacker. He was a first-team All-Big Ten pick as a senior after recording 91 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and five sacks. Sanborn went undrafted but is expected to be a starter for Chicago in 2023.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ****

Alexander Smith was a lightly-recruited prospect from California in the 2018 class. He also had offers from Air Force, Army, Boston College, Cal Poly, Fordham, Idaho, Montana State and Navy at the time of his commitment to UW. Smith has been in the rotation at cornerback for the last three seasons. He was expected to be the No. 1 option last year before a leg injury limited his year. That is the same outlook this fall - Smith's sixth at UW - with a clean bill of health heading into camp.

,Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Nakia Watson was lightly recruited before Wisconsin's offer during the summer of 2017. Ted Gilmore and John Settle worked fast and were able to lock up his commitment in June. As a senior, Watson rushed for 1,938 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns on 268 carries, averaging 7.2 yards per attempt. Watson spent four seasons as a reserve for the Badgers before he transferred to Washington State.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Rachad Wildgoose spent some time on Georgia's commit list before he committed to the Badgers during the late signing period in February of 2018. At UW, Wildgoose played in 25 games with 17 starts. In 2020, he suffered season-ending injury at Northwestern and announced his intentions to enter the 2021 NFL Draft a few weeks later. Wildgoose was drafted by Buffalo in the sixth round.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Wisconsin landed a true nose guard in Bryson Williams, who received a strong push from first-year Nebraska head coach Scott Frost right before Signing Day. As a true freshman, Williams played in all 13 games with three starts. He suffered a leg injury the following season, which opened for the door for Keeanu Benton. In total, Williams played in 38 career games at UW over four seasons.

Rivals Re-Ranking: ***

Wisconsin actually accepted an early pledge from Ben Bryant, and for a period of time both he and Chase Wolf, who chose UW over offers from South Carolina, Boston College, Pittsburgh and Florida, were on UW's commit list. Soon after Wolf's announcement, Bryant and the Badgers had a controversial breakup in May of 2017. He later signed with Cincinnati.

Wolf was a long-time backup at Wisconsin to both Jack Coan and Graham Mertz. He made his first career start in UW's Guaranteed Rate Bowl win over Oklahoma State. Wolf was expected to return in 2023 as a sixth-year senior but backed away from that plan in February after the Badgers added three quarterbacks via the transfer portal.

Rivals Re-Ranking: **

Top overall recruit: Sanborn

Biggest bust: Mustapha

Best surprise: Wildgoose

Wanted to see more from: Pearson

Top walk-ons: John Chenal, John Torchio, Jack Eschenbach

Rivals.com class rank: No. 40

States represented: 11 (Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, Texas, Ohio, Nebraska, Indiana, Illinois, Georgia, Florida and California)

Decommitted: Trent Ingalls (chose not to play football in college), Ben Bryant (Cincinnati).

Transferred: Mustapha (Kent State), Burton (Tulsa), Cruickshank (Rutgers), Franklin (Michigan State), Guerendo (Louisville), Watson (Washington State), Pearson (Texas Tech).

NFL Draft Picks: Wildgoose

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