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2026 Wisconsin Badgers defensive line targets after 3-star recruit commits to Big Ten rival

Luke Fickell and the University of Wisconsin football staff missed out on a defensive lineman from Tennessee, but they're still in contention for plenty of 2026 targets. Check out who's expected to visit.
Jake Kocorowski|
Wisconsin defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow is shown during spring football practice Thursday, April 3, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin. Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Wisconsin defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow is shown during spring football practice Thursday, April 3, 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

Luke Fickell and the University of Wisconsin football staff missed out on a defensive lineman from Tennessee, but they're still in contention for plenty of 2026 targets.

Yahya Gaad, a three-star recruit who plays for Medina South Gibson, announced Friday his commitment to UCLA. Gaad visited Madison on an unofficial visit last month and had announced an official visit to Wisconsin for the weekend of May 29-June 1.

It's not the first time a Badgers defensive line target for the 2026 class has committed elsewhere before summer official visits, as three-star defensive lineman Jake Johnson (Prosper, Texas) gave a verbal commitment to Southern Cal in April. Blake Smythe (Franklin, Indiana) stayed within the state and chose to play for the Hoosiers earlier this month.

Defensive lineman coach E.J. Whitlow and the Wisconsin staff still have options within this position group for the 2026 recruiting cycle.

King Liggins (Chicago Brother Rice)

Wisconsin's already hosted Liggins, a three-star recruit, on an official visit in late April and has been a target since last year.

The Badgers then followed that official visit with sending a significant chunk of their defensive staff to visit Liggins earlier this month, which included defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow. Liggins has been to Madison multiple times during his recruiting process.

Arthur Scott (Streetsboro, Ohio)

Scott recently visited during Wisconsin's spring showcase public scrimmage April 19. Whitlow delivered an offer earlier this month to the three-star recruit after an in-person workout, and Scott will now return for an official visit from May 29-June 1.

He told Wisconsin Badgers on SI that he's now 6-foot-3 and 310 pounds. He racked up 26½ tackles for loss and 5½ sacks as a junior, according to MaxPreps.

Jermaine Polk (Toledo St. Francis de Sales, Ohio)

On3 and 247Sports currently evaluate Polk, another Ohio native, as a three-star recruit. He announced April 12 an offer from the Badgers, then tweeted six days later as scheduled official visit to Madison from June 5-8.

Djidjou Bah (Germantown, Tennessee)

Bah, a three-star recruit, said the Badgers came to see him during the first or second week of spring practices. He tweeted May 2 an offer from Wisconsin, and less than two weeks later, locked in an official visit from May 29-June 1.

"I feel like a priority for them," Bah told Wisconsin Badgers on SI this week. "For them to come see me twice this spring, and they have strong academics. That's big in my recruitment.

"Wisconsin just feels like a good fit, you know? So I'm gonna try to go see what Madison is about."

Wisconsin isn't the first official visit on Bah's schedule, as he already traveled to Northwestern. He'll take other official visits to Iowa (the weekend of June 6-8), Indiana (June 13-15) and NC State (June 20-22).

Alister Vallejo (Liberty Hill, Texas)

The relationship between Vallejo, now a four-star defensive lineman and No. 205 player in the 2026 class, and Wisconsin is a relatively new one. Vallejo said defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow tried to get him to come up to Madison for a spring practice, though the timing didn't fit.

Vallejo announced an offer from Wisconsin earlier this week after a visit from outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell. Vallejo said he had 16 offers and has official visits scheduled to Michigan, Notre Dame and Kansas forthcoming next month.

He told Wisconsin Badgers on SI that he and the Badgers hadn't discussed an official visit as of May 15, though he "could see that in the future."

"It's definitely something I would consider, yes," Vallejo said.

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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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