Mathieu Kanu, a top-20 player in the state of Virginia with 17 total offers, has attracted the interest of plenty of programs nationwide, racking up eight offers since 2025 began. Nonetheless, the Badgers stumbled upon the linebacker quite by accident.

Safeties coach Jack Cooper — Wisconsin's area scout for Virginia — connected with Kanu in early January and became infatuated with his game. That led Cooper to recommend Kanu to linebackers coach and defensive coordinator Mike Tressel, urging him to watch his film and consider recruiting him.

"The DC called me today and he said, ‘yeah, they were right about you,''' Kanu told BadgerBlitz.com. "They really like my film, my character, and that’s just how it happened.”