12/18/2018 football Edit

Wisconsin set to sign its best class of the Rivals.com era

Jon McNamara • BadgerBlitz

Editor

Jon McNamara is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has covered UW athletics since 2002 and has worked at Rivals.com since 2006.

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In just a few hours, pen will hit paper as national letter of intents are set to be processed across the country during college football's early signing period.

For the Wisconsin Badgers, head coach Paul Chryst and his staff are expected to bring in the highest-rated recruiting class of the Internet-era (2002). As of Tuesday morning, UW has the No. 24 class in the country, but that can certainly change this week and beyond until the late period in February. As long at the Badgers stay under No. 32, this will be the top-rated group set to arrive in Madison.

Following is a deep dive back into the rankings to look at how this heralded class stacks up.

Wisconsin's Rivals.com Class Rankings (since 2002)

Rank	Class	Highest-rated recruit	National Class Rank
*1	*Class of 2019	Logan Brown (6.0)	*No. 24
T2	Class of 2014	Jaden Gault, Taiwan Deal, D.J. Gillins and Dareian Watkins (5.8)	No. 33
T2	Class of 2005	Travis Beckum (6.0)	No. 33
4	Class of 2007	Josh Oglesby (6.1)	No. 34
T5	Class of 2017	Kayden Lyles (5.9)	No. 35
T5	Class of 2016	A.J. Taylor (5.9)	No. 35
7	Class of 2015	Bradrick Shaw (5.9)	No. 37
8	Class of 2004	Nick Hayden (5.9)	No. 39
T9	Class of 2003	Justin Ostrowski (NR)	No. 40
T9	Class of 2011	Jake Keefer, Austin Traylor and Melvin Gordon (5.8)	No. 40
T9	Class of 2018	Jack Sanborn (5.8)	No. 40
T9	Class of 2006	Jake Bscherer (5.9)	No. 40
13	Class of 2008	Tyler Westphal, Peter Konz and Curt Phillips (5.8)	No. 41
14	Class of 2009	Kraig Appleton (5.9)	No. 43
15	Class of 2002	Alex Lewis (NR)	No. 49
T16	Class of 2012	Vince Biegel (5.9)	No. 57
T16	Class of 2013	Chikwe Obasih, Keelon Brookins and Corey Clement (5.8)	No. 57
18	Class of 2010	Michael Trotter, Peniel Jean and James C. White (5.7)	No. 87

*Not yet final

Where the 2019 four-stars rank all-time

Highest-Rated Offensive Tackles

Rank	Player	Class	RR
1	Josh Oglesby	2007	6.1
2	Logan Brown	2019	6.0
3	Jake Bscherer	2006	5.9
4	Joe Thomas	2003	*N/R

*Rivals.com did not have a RR rating in 2003

Highest-Rated Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Class	RR
1	Graham Mertz	2019	5.9
T2	Jack Coan	2017	5.8
T2	Curt Phillips	2008	5.8
T2	D.J. Gillins	2014	5.8
5	Tyler Donovan	2003	*N/R

*Rivals.com did not have an RR rating in 2003

Highest-Rated Cornerbacks

Rank	Player	Class	Stars	RR
T1	Keelon Brookins	2013		5.8
T1	Semar Melvin	2019		5.8

*All other signees have been 5.7 or lower

Highest-Rated Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Class	RR
T1	Kyle Penniston	2015	5.8
T1	Austin Traylor	2011	5.8
T1	Hayden Rucci	2019	5.8

*All other signees have been 5.7 or lower

Highest-Rated Defensive Tackles

Rank	Player	Class	RR
1	Nick Hayden	2004	5.9
T2	Brandon Hoey	2006	5.8
T2	Jordan Kohout	2009	5.8
T2	Garrett Rand	2016	5.8
T2	Rodas Johnson	2019	5.8

*Five-star Justin Ostrowski was listed as a defensive end

Highest-Rated Linebackers

Rank	Player	Class	RR
1	Travis Beckum	2005	6.0
2	Vince Biegel	2012	5.9
T3	Spencer Lytle	2019	5.8
T3	Jake Keefer	2011	5.8
T3	Elijah Hodge	2005	5.8
T3	Noah Burks	2016	5.8