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Wisconsin Badgers hosting 4-star edge rushers among key defensive recruits on official visits this weekend

The Badgers have had trouble recruiting defensive linemen for the 2026 class, but Luke Fickell is bringing two edge rusher recruits to Madison for the first weekend of official visits.
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

It's been a tough stretch for the Wisconsin Badgers in recruiting one key position group for its 2026 class.

Coach Luke Fickell and his staff have seen five defensive line targets give verbal commitments to other programs since the beginning of April: Jake Johnson (Prosper, Texas) to Southern Cal, Blake Smythe (Franklin, Indiana) to Indiana, Yahya Gaad (Medina South Gibson, Tennessee) to UCLA,Jamir Perez (Cleveland Glenville) to Florida, and most recently King Liggins (Chicago Brother Rice) to Illinois.

Defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow and the Badgers are expected to welcome two 2026 targets this weekend on official visits in three-star recruits Djidjou Bah (Germantown, Tennessee) and Arthur Scott (Streetsboro, Ohio).

Bah released his top eight schools last week, with Wisconsin, Indiana, NC State, Michigan State, Northwestern, Iowa, Georgia Tech and nearby Memphis making the cut.

He already took one official visit to Northwestern and has scheduled official visits to Iowa (the weekend of June 6-8), Indiana (June 13-15) and Michigan State (June 20-22).

Scott has announced other scheduled official visits to Rutgers (June 6-8) and Michigan State (June 20-22), though he previously had one to Cincinnati the weekend that is now occupied by the Spartans.

Courting two four-star edge rushers

Outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell already has a 2026 commitment for his position group from three-star recruit Carmelow Reed (Olympia Fields Rich Township, Illinois). He and the staff also hope to persuade another Chicagoland standout to head across state borders.

McHale Blade (Chicago Simeon) is a consensus four-star recruit who just listed Wisconsin among his top seven programs alongside Purdue, Illinois, Stanford, USC, Michigan and Notre Dame.

Rivals currently evaluates him the highest among four outlets as the No. 12 edge rusher and No. 109 player overall in the 2026 class. Blade most recently attended the Badgers' spring showcase April 19.

Jackson Samuels Ford (Malvern Prep, Pennsylvania) traveled to Madison for the program's January junior day event, and he's expected to be back in town this weekend.

Ford is nearly a consensus four-star recruit who already took one official visit to Stanford, and according to 247Sports, will make trips to Kentucky (June 2-4), Penn State (June 6-8), Ohio State (June 13-15) and Michigan (June 20-22) after his time at Wisconsin.

In-state inside linebacker to watch

The Badgers received a commitment from three-star linebacker Aden Reeder (Cincinnati St. Xavier) this month, and Appleton North's Ben Wenzel may be the final piece for Mike Tressel and Tuf Borland's position group.

Wenzel visited Wisconsin earlier this spring. He then announced an official visit and eventual offer from the homestate Badgers this month. He's listed at 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds on Hudl, and according to wissports.net, he recorded 83 tackles, one tackle for loss and two forced fumbles as a junior.

Wisconsin wasn't the first Power Four school to offer him, however. He announced offers from Kansas, Michigan State and Oklahoma since March and later tweeted about official visits set to the Jayhawks (June 20-22) and Sooners for next month.

Intriguing athletes at safety

Like with its defensive line, Wisconsin is still looking for its first safety commit of the 2026 class. But safeties coach Jack Cooper has put in plenty of work.

Zachary Taylor (Katy Jordan, Texas) is a high three-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals, and he locked in an official visit to Wisconsin earlier this month.

He alreaddy took an official visit to TCU and has previously announced trips to West Virginia (June 3-5), Pitt (June 12-14) and Houston (June 19-21).

Taylor has immense speed, running a 10.52 100-meter dash in April according to Athletic.net.

Nick Reddish (Charlotte Independence) is another three-star safety who listed Wisconsin in his final five schools in April. Badgers coaches visited Reddish earlier this month.

He already took one official visit to Indiana and tweeted about scheduled OVs to Virginia Tech (June 6-8), Notre Dame (June 12-15) and North Carolina (June 20-22).

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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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