Upcoming Badgers Football Walk-On Wins Wisconsin State High School Wrestling Championship

An upcoming walk-on for the Badgers football team dominated the Wisconsin State High School Wrestling Championship and looks like a great all-around athlete.

Waunakee's McCoy Smith, will walk on for the Wisconsin Badgers football team after winning the state wrestling championship. | Courtesy of Jake Kocorowski

Luke Fickell was a three-time state champion in high school wrestling.

He's going to love one of his incoming walk-on players who just did the same thing in Wisconsin.

This weekend was the WIAA state wrestling tournament, and McCoy Smith from Waunakee won the 215-pound state title.

Thank you @NateLetton and @BadgerFootball for this awesome graphic pic.twitter.com/GhHUwVtjjj

— McCoy Smith (@McCoySmith14) March 1, 2026

He beat Niko Kleinschmidt from D.C. Everest for his first-career state title and the first for Waunakee High School since 1987.

In the fall, Smith was a standout defensive lineman and running back for the Warriors who is undersized but hard to stop.

Listed at 5-foot-11, 215 pounds, he finished the year with 110 tackles, 11.5 sacks and 44 tackles for loss. As a ball-carrier, he rushed 27 times for 186 yards and nine touchdowns.

He accepted a preferred walk-on offer for the Badgers to play fullback and tight end.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers adding to in-state football recruiting for 2026 with priority walk-ons

Smith has very little chance of seeing the field as a true freshman walk-on, but if he continues to develop as he sits for a year or two, he could be the type of all-around athlete that finds his way onto special teams and eventually the offense.

He's the type of in-state underdog story that Wisconsin fans can quickly grow to love.

Fickell will love his wrestling prowess, too, giving Smith as good of a shot as any walk-on on the roster to someday make a real impact on the team.

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