Wisconsin Football Pushing for Five-Star Prospect After Game-Day Visit to Madison

The Badgers are quietly making a run at one of the nation's top defensive prospects.

Wisconsin football hosted Jalanie George for their Week 2 win over Western Illinois, according to 247Sports. It's safe to say that getting the blue-chip talent on campus for a game-day is a massive step for the Badgers as they try to claw their way back into his recruitment, battling a number of blue blood programs and well-oiled recruiting machines.

George released a Top 6 in May that didn't include the Badgers, and instead featured Auburn, Ohio State, Washington, Miami, Oklahoma and Florida. But Wisconsin clearly remains a player, as George obviously has a limited number of game-day visits he can take this fall. In Week 2, he chose to come to Madison and see what the Badgers are all about.

The Goodyear, Arizona native is hands down one of the best defensive prospects in the nation in the class of 2028. A five-star recruit per On3/Rivals, and a composite five-star prospect on 247Sports, the edge defender is ranked as the No. 9 player in the nation (No. 2 EDGE) on On3/Rivals and the No. 66 player nationally (No. 12 EDGE) on 247Sports.

Wisconsin was expected to host George this summer for the big rising junior recruiting event Bucky's Barbecue, but that visit fell through. Still, it appears the Badgers' relationship with George is strong enough to where the edge defender deemed it worthwhile to spend one of his game-day visits in Madison.

Can Wisconsin make things interesting for George?

Desert Edge defensive edge Jalanie George. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Wisconsin has been hot in the state of Arizona as of late. Two of the Badgers' commits in the class of 2027, defensive lineman Yahzeen Zion and linebacker Nathan Jones, both hail from Goodyear and attended the same High School that George does (Desert Edge). Current Badgers' linebacker Jon Jon Kamara also hails from Goodyear and also attended Desert Edge.

It'll be interesting to see if the Badgers were able to move the needle for George as he took in the win over Western Illinois. Wisconsin didn't notch a single sack, but outside linebacker Sebastian Cheeks did tally six pressures. The team as a whole created 17 pressures on 28 total dropbacks by the Leathernecks, but simply coudn't get home and notch a sack.

Wisconsin also has extremely stiff competition for George's services. As mentioned, his official top six is almost exclusively blue bloods who almost certainly have deeper pockets than the Badgers. Interestingly enough, Washington, which is the only school listed as "warm" on his offer sheet on 247Sports, could be the team to beat.

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