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Wisconsin Badgers land first summer commitment in 2026 3-star defensive lineman with Big Ten interest

Another Ohio native is set to join Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers as a much-needed defensive line recruit announced his commitment during his official visit.
Jake Kocorowski|
Wisconsin defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow is shown during spring football practice Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin. Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wisconsin defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow is shown during spring football practice Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin. Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

Another Ohio native is set to join Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers.

Defensive lineman Arthur Scott, who plays for Streetsboro High School in Ohio, announced his commitment to the Badgers on Sunday.

Scott is a three-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals. He told Wisconsin Badgers On SI last month that he held 13 offers, previously announcing Power Four interest from Cincinnati and West Virginia. That was before tweeting about new Big Ten offers from Rutgers and Michigan State.

Scott racked up 26.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks as a junior, according to MaxPreps.

Much-needed defensive lineman in the 2026 class

It’s no secret that Wisconsin hadn’t secured a defensive lineman this spring, as the program missed out on several targets since April.

The Badgers restocked its defensive front in the transfer portal for the 2025 season with upperclassmen, but that can’t be the formula every season. The program knows that and signed three defensive linemen during the 2025 early signing period in December.

Scott previously said that the Badgers staff envisions him playing on the interior of the defensive line. Others to watch this month include fellow three-star recruits Djidjou Bah (Germantown, Tennessee) and Jermaine Polk (Toledo St. Francis de Sales, Ohio).

"As a defensive lineman, I like to describe myself as a fear factor for offensive linemen," Scott said last month. "Most of the time on our team, when I'm on defense, I line up as a five (technique), sometimes I move into a three-tech."

"But when I go in at nose, nine times out of 10 on the first play ... the ball is snapped over the quarterback's head. So definitely a fear factor. Kind of like, I don't know, a door buster, if you will."

Summer official visits paying off for the Badgers once again

Scott was in town this weekend, the first for hosting recruits on official visits. The first weekend of OVs have been overall successful for the Badgers in that regard.

Wisconsin anticipated hosting around 16 recruits on official visits that weekend, which included three commits. We’ll see how the Badgers’ fortunes fair with the other 13 in due time.

Another Ohio recruit heading to Madison

Former coach Paul Chryst and his staff recruited the Buckeye State well during his tenure at Wisconsin. Fickell has continued that and then some in the 2025 class.

The Badgers signed defensive back Jai’mier Scott (Cincinnati Mt. Healthy) and defensive lineman Drayden Pavey (Cincinnati Taft), along with offensive lineman Nolan Davenport (Massillon Washington) during the 2025 early signing period.

Scott and Davenport both enrolled in January and participated in spring practices.

Wisconsin also received a commitment from 2026 linebacker Aden Reeder (Cincinnati St. Xavier) last month.

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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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