Are the Badgers taking a turn with in state recruiting under Luke Fickell?

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell leads the Wisconsin Badgers onto the field before playing the Illinois Fighting Illini at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, on November 22, 2025. (Photo by Ross Harried/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Wisconsin Badgers have been off to quite the start with in-state recruiting in the 2027 class, as their first eight commits in the cycle have all come from Wisconsin.

Not only are the Badgers landing players from the state, but they’re also getting a majority of the top talent. Each of those eight recruits is in the top 10 of 247Sports’s Composite rankings for the state in the 2027 class.

Wisconsin’s class started with the commitment of three-star offensive lineman Ethan McIntosh, the son of recently resigned Athletic Director Chris McIntosh, who also played for the Badgers.

After that came the commitment of four-star Korz Loken, who is the No. 2 player in the state and a top-10 tight end in the class nationally. The verbal pledges have rained in from there, with three-star safety Dustin Roach, three-star edge rusher Isaac Miller, four-star offensive lineman Cole Reiter, four-star running back Kingston Allen, four-star offensive lineman Hunter Mallinger, and three-star offensive lineman Reece Mallinger all committing to the program over the last few months.

Wisconsin’s class now stands at No. 13 overall in the 247Sports rankings, and it’s come purely from one of the most talented in-state classes in recent memory. This level of in-state recruiting has been a change from Luke Fickell and his staff, as the Badgers have cast more of a national web since the head coach arrived.

The Badgers got one commit from the state in the Class of 2023, three in 2024, five in 2025, and one in 2026. What’s been the difference with the recent success in in-state recruiting for Fickell and his staff?

“It’s everything,” the head coach said last week. “I think that the good thing about it all is I think that you are seeing, at least in particular in the recruiting side of things, that there’s a confidence level in the things that we’re doing. And sometimes it’s hard to see because it always comes down to wins. But guys that are inside the program, guys that come to the program, they do see something that’s growing. And I think that’s a big thing for us.

“But I also think it’s a great year in the state. I think our coaches have done a great job. But it takes a couple, you know, catalysts to doing those things as well. And so there’s a lot of credit that needs to be kind of thrown around for how this thing has gone. But a lot of it has to fall on those guys’ shoulders, those families’ shoulders that have been here and seen the things that are growing. Just hasn’t been as obvious to the outside.”

In past years, I thought the criticism of in-state recruiting was overblown. In today’s world of college football, you need to cast a wide net to haul in the best available talent for your program, and we’ve seen Fickell turn in some top-30 recruiting classes.

But the Badgers did miss on a couple of major in-state recruitments in the past years, and those ones are key to building the culture and the reputation in the state. I think we’re starting to see those relationships in the state begin to develop more, and that’ll be important for years to come.

But, make no mistake, this 2027 recruiting class is one of the best ever in the state, and that’s why Wisconsin has gone so heavily into recruiting this talented group of individuals. There are several commits who were destined to be Badgers, but Wisconsin has also done a nice job sealing the deal with a couple of these recruitments, ensuring the top talent stays within the state.

This early buildup has given the Badgers a good foundation to attack the rest of their recruiting class, as Luke Fickell looks to turn in another top-30 cycle.