Wisconsin Football is Suddenly Favored to Land Five-Star Prospect

The Badgers' didn't land the crown jewel of their 2027 recruiting class, elite four-star defensive back Mekhi Williams, until 16 other prospects had already pledged to Wisconsin.

In the 2028 cycle, Wisconsin could secure its white whale extremely early in the process as the third player to verbally commit.

Elite five-star edge Jalanie George from Desert Edge High School in Goodyear, Arizona, is now projected to commit to Wisconsin. Though he remains without a crystal ball prediction on 247Sports, On3/Rivals national recruiting analysts Steve Wiltfong and Brandon Huffman have both logged picks for George to pick the Badgers.

Initially, Washington looked like the program to beat for George. But Wiltfong and Huffman have both flipped their predictions to Wisconsin, and George is set to announce his commitment next Thursday, Oct. 1.

What George's commitment would mean for Wisconsin

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

Wisconsin's 2028 recruiting class is already off to a great start. The Badgers have secured a verbal commitment from high-upside linebacker Cale Britt from Orlando, Florida, and they followed that up by landing offensive lineman Brock Barrows from Missouri about two weeks later.

Nonetheless, adding George to this class would certainly kick things up a notch. He's the kind of talent that Wisconsin is typically unable to land commitments from out of high school.

George has 36 offers and can essentially hand-pick where he wants to play his college ball. Alabama, Miami, Georgia, Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, Texas, USC, Notre Dame — you name the college football blue blood, and they've offered George a scholarship.

Interestingly enough, George has dropped in On3/Rivals' rankings since Wisconsin became the favorite to land him. When he announced his revised top four and his Oct. 1 commitment date, he was the No. 9 player in the country and the No. 2 edge. Now, he's the No. 23 player nationally, the No. 6 edge and he's been bumped down to a four-star prospect. George remains a 247Sports composite five-star prospect.

The Badgers have only ever signed four five-star prospects (per 247Sports) in the history of the internet recruiting era. The last five-star Wisconsin signed was offensive tackle Nolan Rucci in the class of 2021. Prior to that, it was another offensive tackle, Logan Brown in the class of 2019.

Wisconsin landing George would be another sign that finally, this program is trending in the right direction under head coach Luke Fickell. The Badgers must back up that notion with their play this fall, however, or any of the elite recruits currently pledged to Wisconsin are liable to jump ship.

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