Three-Star Defensive Tackle Chooses Big Ten School Over Northwestern
Northwestern Football has had, by and large, a very succesful 2026 recruiting cycle thus far. Its two big visit weekends have yielded a slew of commitments from three-star recruits, and the class currently ranks No. 39 on 247Sports.
One potential recruit, though, has decided to go in a different direction and join one of the Wildcats' conference rivals. Defensive tackle Djidjou Bah announced his commitment to Wisconsin Sunday on X.
Badger Nation I’m 🏡🔴🦡⚪️ #OnWisconsin #GoBadgers #alhamdulillah @BadgerFootball @CoachWhit_UW @Coach_Mitch_ @CoachFick @Badger247 @AllenTrieu @SWiltfong_ @adamgorney @TomLoy247 @iamcoachgene @badgers_insider @johnvarlas @CSmithScout pic.twitter.com/AfSdwKVi7v
— 3⭐️ Djidjou Bah 🇬🇳 (@9ninezer0) June 2, 2025
Bah was the No. 153 defensive lineman and the No. 62 recruit from his home state of Tennessee, according to 247Sports. He also had Big Ten offers on the table from Indiana, Iowa and Michigan State when he decided to head to Madison to start his career.
Standing at 6-foot-3 with a weight of 253 lbs, Bah is already a college-sized lineman. Oftentimes, the listed weights for these high school prospects are notably lower than your average college-aged player. But that is not the case with Bah who has even more time to add muscle before his career begins.
From a Northwestern perspective, losing out on one recruit isn't too big of a deal. But losing him to a conference rival like Wisconsin is never the result you want to see. The 'Cats have a solid defensive front at this moment, but it would have been helpful to sure up that position group for the future.
The good news is, Northwestern has already secured commitments from two defensive linemen in the 2026 class. Three-stars Calvin Lorek and Nick Zalewski should be solid pieces for the future assuming they develop well in Evanston.
Bah, though, will not be joining the class, and Northwestern will surely match up with him in the future barring a transfer. Wisconsin is not on the Wildcats' schedule in 2025.
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Ryan Cole is a writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI covering every team on campus. He’s currently a junior at NU where he’s studying journalism and previously wrote and edited for Inside NU. He also studies business with an eye towards eventually helping develop business models to revive local news. In his free time, Cole enjoys watching sports, playing sports, reading the news and singing.