Wisconsin Welcomes Seven Early Enrollees

The newest Badgers are in town.

Jake Kocorowski

Earlier this week, Wisconsin unveiled an Instagram post revealing eight new faces to its football program.

On Thursday afternoon, a UW official confirmed to AllBadgers.com that seven players will enroll early in January. Those include 2020 signees offensive linemen Jack Nelson and Dylan Barrett, linebackers Nick Herbig, Jordan Turner and Preston Zachman, defensive end Cade McDonald and wide receiver Chimere Dike.

Last season, only four Badgers from the 2019 class -- quarterback Graham Mertz, inside linebacker Leo Chenal, outside linebacker Spencer Lytle and walk-on wide receiver Cam Phillips -- started their college football journey in the winter.

Enrolling early will allow this group of Badgers to receive a head start in the program with participating in winter conditioning and spring ball. Here is a breakdown from a recruiting rankings' perspective of the newest first-year Badgers:

Offensive Lineman Dylan Barrett

• 247Sports Composite: Three stars, 0.8627 rating, No. 770 player overall, No. 48 offensive guard in nation; No. 13 player in Illinois in 2020 class
• 247Sports: Three stars, 87 rating; No. 601 player overall. No. 33 offensive guard in nation; No. 9 player in Illinois in 2020 class
• ESPN: Three stars, 76 rating; No. 65 offensive guard in the nation, No. 100 regional player, No. 18 player in Illinois in 2020 class
• Rivals: Three stars, 5.6 rating; No. 15 player in Illinois in 2020 class

Athlete/Wide Receiver Chimere Dike 

• 247Sports Composite: Three stars, 0.8727 rating, No. 564 player overall, No. 92 wide receiver in nation; No. 4 player in Wisconsin in 2020 class
• 247Sports: Four stars, 90 rating; No. 323 player overall. No. 56 wide receiver in nation; No. 3 player in Wisconsin in 2020 class
• ESPN: Three stars, 76 rating; No. 141 wide receiver in the nation, No. 88 regional player, No. 8 player in Wisconsin in 2020 class
• Rivals: Three stars, 5.6 rating; No. 4 player in Wisconsin in 2020 class

Outside Linebacker Nick Herbig

• 247Sports Composite: Four stars, 0.9234 rating, No. 187 player overall, No. 14 outside linebacker in nation; No. 2 player in Hawaii in 2020 class
• 247Sports: Four stars, 94 rating; No. 106 player overall. No. 8 outside linebacker in nation; No. 2 player in Hawaii in 2020 class
• Rivals: Four stars, 5.8 rating; No. 18 outside linebacker in the nation; No. 2 player in Hawaii in 2020 class

Defensive lineman Cade McDonald

• 247Sports Composite: Three stars, 0.8407 rating, No. 1407 player overall, No. 70 strong-side defensive end in nation; No. 12 player in Wisconsin in 2020 class
• 247Sports: Three stars, 87 rating; No. 624 player overall, No. 31 strong-side defensive end in nation; No. 12 player in Wisconsin in 2020 class
• ESPN: Two stars, 69 rating; No. 235 defensive end in the nation, No. 191 regional player, No. 30 player in Wisconsin in 2020 class
• Rivals: Three stars, 5.5 rating

Offensive Lineman Jack Nelson

• 247Sports Composite: Four stars, 0.9347 rating, No. 148 player overall, No. 15 offensive tackle in nation; No. 2 player in Wisconsin in 2020 class
• 247Sports: Four stars, 94 rating; No. 119 player overall. No. 13 offensive tackle in nation; No. 2 player in Wisconsin in 2020 class
• ESPN: Four stars, 83 rating; No. 18 offensive tackle in the nation, No. 9 regional player, No. 2 player in Wisconsin in 2020 class
• Rivals: Four stars, 5.8 rating; No. 29 offensive tackle in the nation, No. 2 player in Wisconsin in 2020 class

Inside linebacker Jordan Turner

• 247Sports Composite: Three stars, 0.8680 rating, No. 659 player overall, No. 32 inside linebacker in nation; No. 21 player in Michigan in 2020 class
• 247Sports: Three stars, 87 rating; No. 628 player overall. No. 22 inside linebacker in nation; No. 21 player in Michigan in 2020 class
• ESPN: Three stars, 75 rating; No. 104 outside linebacker in the nation, No. 122 regional player, No. 27 player in Michigan in 2020 class
• Rivals: Three stars, 5.7 rating; No. 30 outside linebacker in the nation, No. 14 player in Michigan in 2020 class

Inside Linebacker Preston Zachman

• 247Sports Composite: Three stars, 0.8431 rating, No. 1321 player overall, No. 92 outside linebacker in nation; No. 16 player in Pennsylvania in 2020 class
• 247Sports: Three stars, 84 rating; No. 1469 player overall. No. 101 outside linebacker in nation; No. 20 player in Pennsylvania in 2020 class
• ESPN: Three stars, 75 rating; No. 96 outside linebacker in the nation, No. 130 regional player, No. 13 player in Pennsylvania in 2020 class
• Rivals: Three stars, 5.5 rating; No. 15 player in Pennsylvania in 2020 class

Badgers add specialist Andy Vujnovich

Also seen in that Instagram picture was specialist Andy Vujnovich. A UW official confirmed the Columbus, Wis., native is a junior and not a grad transfer.

Vujnovich came from NCAA Division III program Dubuque. According to the program's stats, he punted 49 times with a 36.7-yard average last season. He booted five attempts of over 50 yards. Fifteen of the 49 landed inside the 20-yard line. He also made two of three field goals last season with a long of 30.

Chris Sailer Kicking rated Vujnovich as a 4.5 star punter according to its rankings system. On Jan. 13, he announced that he moved on with his college football journey to UW. 

@AndyVuj24 of Wisconsin pic.twitter.com/cAW4aXvSZl

— Aaron Perez (@ThePuntFactory) January 5, 2020

Other former Division III players who made the jump to Wisconsin include current New Orleans Saints right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, wide receiver Ricky Finco and offensive lineman Joe Panos. 

Update, Jan. 18: Working to confirm with UW if Vujnovich will be eligible to play.