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'We call them draft picks now' Wisconsin Badgers changing high school recruiting philosophy

The Badgers welcomed in its smallest high school recruiting class in decades, but it's all part of an intentional shift in the way the program approaches recruiting.
Cam Wilhorn|
Nov 22, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell looks on during a timeout in the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images
Nov 22, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell looks on during a timeout in the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images | Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images

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MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell and director of recruiting Pat Lambert spoke to the media Wednesday afternoon for National Signing Day.

The university had 13 players (12 high school recruits and one JUCO transfer) sign their letters of intent at the time of the press conference. So far, it's Wisconsin's smallest high school class since 247 Sports began tracking commitments in 1999.

Related: Wisconsin badgers early signing day tracker: Every player coming to the program in 2026

While the Badgers' on-field shortcomings made recruiting more difficult — something Fickell and Lambert didn't shy away from acknowledging — Wisconsin's small class size was by design.

"We call them draft picks now"

Fickell's first two full recruiting cycles each featured 22 enrollees. But as the transfer portal has normalized and roster limits are implemented, the Badgers have altered their recruiting attack.

"The change in the philosophy was a little bit more of saying, how many guys do you really want to bring in? And it's not that we didn't want to or don't want to bring in young guys or freshman guys," Fickell said Wednesday. "The idea was, let's make sure the guys we're going for in high school, we're going to invest more in. We're going to expect that they can come in and contribute as a freshman, whether it's even special teams."

"I know big guys take more time to develop, but the truth of college football today is, you've got to have these guys, as your rosters get smaller, you've got to have these guys who can come in and play."

With the popularity of the transfer portal, as Fickell noted, players who may not have emerged into a consistent role or seen enough playing time are at risk of leaving. Having several years to develop a player has grown even more unlikely.

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That's why the Badgers are focusing on condensing their high school recruiting classes, focusing on players who can contribute as soon as Year 1.

Fickell often used the term "invest" when talking about high school recruits. While that may, in certain cases, be a financial sense, it looks like the program is offering a deeper level of commitment to their recruits. Commitment to physical development and finding opportunities to see the field.

The program's narrow focus has also meant taking more swings at bigger recruits, even if it means missing out.

"We call them draft picks now," Fickell said. "And that means you might shoot at a little bit higher end of things and, in return, you might not have quite as many spots [filled]."

For better or worse, that means more of a reliance on the transfer portal. And that might mean this offseason will include the biggest transfer haul that Wisconsin has ever seen.

"If we're going to take 14 guys, which we only right now only have 12," Fickell said. "14 might be the number which is going to put you in a position in a situation that the transfer portal is going to have to be one of those things that's going to be probably bigger than you ever have had."

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Cam Wilhorn
CAM WILHORN

Cam Wilhorn is a University of Wisconsin School of Journalism Graduate and Wisconsin native. He's been covering Wisconsin sports since 2023 for outlets like BadgerBlitz.com, Badger of Honor and The Badger Herald.

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