The Sweet 16 ranking is based on a combination of three factors: position need, interest in Wisconsin and talent level.
Note: All quotes used in this report are from the Rivals.com network.
No. 16: Inside linebacker Payton Pierce
Offers: Baylor, LSU, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, TCU, Texas, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin, among others
Previous Rank: 16
The Word: This spring, the Badgers hosted Payton Pierce, the No. 3 inside linebacker in the country. The competition is stiff for the four-star talent from Texas, but Pierce is intrigued by the opportunity to play for one of the top defenses in the country. He will visit Wisconsin again on Oct. 1.
"I don't have a connection to Wisconsin, but when the Badgers called and asked me to come up, I couldn't say no," Pierce told BadgerBlitz.com. "It's Wisconsin and the No. 1 defense in the country, so it made a lot of sense for us.
"I like Big Ten football and that hard-nosed style of play. Wisconsin has great linebackers and I love Coach (Jim) Leonhard's story as a former walk-on. That really stuck out to me and I knew I would take a visit there if they ever wanted me to see their school."
No. 15: Defensive end Eddie Tuerk
Offers: Cincinnati, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Northwestern, Tennessee and Wisconsin, among others
Previous Rank: 15
The Word: Four-star prospect Eddie Tuerk picked up a scholarship during an unofficial to Wisconsin in late March.
"We play four Saturday games this season so a lot of my game day visits will just depend on my schedule," Tuerk told Rivals.com. "I'm still trying to set it up but I'm hoping to go to Illinois this weekend when they play Wyoming. We are going down to visit my sister at Illinois and hopefully seeing the game in person. I'm also looking forward to seeing games at Wisconsin and also Tennessee along with Michigan, Iowa, Northwestern and Cincinnati. I still need to set up those visit dates and I'm hoping to get that done pretty soon."
