Wisconsin Badgers jump in on recruiting 5-star offensive lineman who is a freak-athlete

New Wisconsin Badgers offensive line coach Eric Mateos is swinging for the fences with his latest scholarship offer for a five-star offensive lineman he already had a relationship with.

Oct 11, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Bucky Badger waves a Wisconsin flag at mid field before a game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Iowa Hawkeyes at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ross Harried-Imagn Images | Ross Harried-Imagn Images

The Wisconsin Badgers made their first big change to the coaching staff last week, hiring former Arkansas offensive line coach Eric Mateos after he turned the Razorbacks' front five into one of the top units in the country during his two seasons in the position.

Mateos has wasted no time getting on the recruiting trail for the Badgers, extending a pair of offers to class of 2027 recruits Peyton Miller and Keyon Hemphill-Woods.

The new coach made his biggest swing yet Wednesday, extending an offer to five-star offensive lineman Ismael Camara.

Related: New Badgers OL coach bringing back old-school mentality Wisconsin fans will love

Nicknamed the French Freak, Camara is ranked the 22nd best recruit in the country by Rivals and the 26th best by 247 Sports.

Wisconsin Offensive Linemen are legendary. Joe Thomas. John Moffitt. Mike Webster. Kevin Zeitler. Paul Gruber. Rob Havenstein. Terry Stieve. Founding Fathers of O-Line U. It is an honor to be invited into this elite fraternity.

I want to thank @CoachFick and @CoachMateos for… pic.twitter.com/nTQVRFJqqu

— 5🌟Ismael’’FrenchFreak’’Camara (@Only1_iscamara) December 17, 2025

Wisconsin joins a laundry list of offers for the elite offensive lineman, but Mateos has a longstanding relationship with Camara.

Arkansas was the fifth school to issue Camara a scholarship, which should give the Badgers a leg up on teams who are also just getting around to offering Camara.

Where’s 🏠 ??@GilmerBuckeyeFB@RecruitGilmerFB@TheGilmerMirror@jessetemple@Wi_recruiting@Evan_Flood @SamSpiegs@JustinWells2424@TFloss32@DavidSmoak@On3Recruits@247Recruiting@Matt_Stepp817@RivalsCamp@justinwells2424 pic.twitter.com/gZnYS7N0tM

— 5🌟Ismael’’FrenchFreak’’Camara (@Only1_iscamara) December 17, 2025

The Texas native has taken visits to Texas A&M, Texas, SMU, Texas Tech and Tennessee.

He immediately becomes one of the best players on Wisconsin's offer list, for good reason.

Camara is a freak athlete who's grown even more versatile as he's dropped weight.

Back when I was 375 lol pic.twitter.com/xEBuPBGAnX

— 5🌟Ismael’’FrenchFreak’’Camara (@Only1_iscamara) September 29, 2025

17.7 Mph this morning. I wasn’t full speed… pic.twitter.com/O12ilusfCV

— 5🌟Ismael’’FrenchFreak’’Camara (@Only1_iscamara) October 1, 2025

The 6-foot-6 lineman is listed as an interior offensive lineman by all major recruiting sites. He has shed plenty of weight during 2025, with a target goal in mind of 315 pounds.

FROM 380 TO 335 in 8 MONTHS 🤯🤯 IM NOT DONE YET… 315 IS THE GOAL ! pic.twitter.com/xtXiCNVO1t

— 5🌟Ismael’’FrenchFreak’’Camara (@Only1_iscamara) September 25, 2025

The decision to shed pounds comes with the hopes of playing tackle at the college level, the position he is playing at high school.

While Camara's visit list indicates he could be interested in remaining closer to home, Wisconsin's historical success at producing NFL offensive linemen and a prolonged relationship with Mateos could be enough to make the Badgers a contender.

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