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2026 edge rusher targets available for Wisconsin Badgers as 5-star dominoes begin to fall

Wisconsin's football recruiting will ramp up significantly in the next month as it hopes to lock in the majority of its 2026 class. The Badgers have targeted these key edge rushers as official visits will kick up at the end of the month.
Jake Kocorowski|
Four-star edge rusher recruit McHale Blade visited Wisconsin Badgers spring football practice in April
Four-star edge rusher recruit McHale Blade visited Wisconsin Badgers spring football practice in April | Jake Kocorowski / Wisconsin Badgers on SI

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Wisconsin Badgers

The WIsconsin Badgers have reeled in plenty of highly-acclaimed edge rushers in recent memory. Even as many 2026 recruits have narrowed their recruiting journeys down with official visit season picking up, coach Luke Fickell and his staff still have plenty of options at the position group.

Jake Kreul, an ESPN five-star recruit that plays for powerhouse Bradenton IMG in Florida, unveiled Thursday his official visit schedule that did not include Wisconsin. He had received an offer from the Badgers' staff, but that was in October 2023. On3 released Kreul's top 12 schools in February that did not include Wisconsin.

The program also has previously recruited four-star recruit Luke Wafle (Princeton Hun School, New Jersey), but UW already has received one commitment from high three-star outside linebacker Carmelow Reed (Olympia Fields Rich Township, Illinois) last month.

The staff has also continued to target some other key recruits on the

McHale Blade (Chicago Simeon)

Blade most recently took an unofficial visit to Madison for Wisconsin's spring showcase April 19. He's a nationally prominent recruit who's currently evaluated as the No. 161 player and No. 22 edge rusher in the 2026 class by On3's Industry rankings.

Badgers staff that included outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell and defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow visited him Thursday, according to his Instagram story.

Jackson Samuels Ford (Malvern Prep, Pennsylvania)

A four-star recruit, Ford named Wisconsin among his top eight schools April 2. The Badgers are competing against Ohio State, Michigan, Rutgers, Stanford, Penn State, Kentucky and USC for his commitment.

Ford visited Wisconsin in January and later announced his intentions to take an official visit to Wisconsin the weekend of May 29-June 1.

Ashton Blatt (Pittsburgh Central Catholic)

Blatt is a high three-star recruit who released his top eight schools April 4, with Wisconsin included along with Penn State, Duke, Pitt Virginia Tech, Virginia, West Virginia and Indiana. He also announced later that month a notable offer from Oklahoma.

Blatt also previously tweeted that he was set to take an official visit to Wisconsin the weekend of May 29-June 1.

Anthony Charles (McDonald South Fayette, Pennsylvania)

Charles is yet another three-star Pennsylvania product. He announced official visits to Minnesota (May 30-June 1), Cincinnati (June 7-9) and Wisconsin (June 12-15) but also tweeted last month an offer from Michigan.

Hudson Woods (Spring Branch Smithson Valley, Texas)

Woods, a three-star recruit, announced an offer from the Badgers on Feb. 13 . He has tweeted about planned official visits to Oklahoma State (April 25-27), Kansas State (May 22-24), Northwestern (May 30-June 1), Southern Methodist (June 6-8) and Wisconsin (June 12-15).

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Jake Kocorowski
JAKE KOCOROWSKI

Jake Kocorowski has covered the Wisconsin football program since the 2013 season for a few outlets, most recently at the Wisconsin State Journal/BadgerExtra. He wrote, directed and edited BadgerExtra’s “Rags to Roses” series about the 1993 Wisconsin football team that won second place in the 2023 APSE Division C Project category.

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