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Report: Wisconsin Badgers to host visit for former UCLA commit after DeShaun Foster firing

The Wisconsin Badgers are looking to take full advantage of the coaching change over at UCLA, making a strong play for a key edge rusher recruit.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow is shown during spring football practice Thursday, April 25, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow is shown during spring football practice Thursday, April 25, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers are looking to take full advantage of the coaching change over at UCLA.

Following the firing of DeShaun Foster, a number of Bruins commits for 2026 have reopened their recruiting, and Luke Fickell's staff is swooping in.

According to Rivals national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney, Wisconsin is scheduling an official visit with three-star edge rusher Yahya Gaad from Medina, Tennessee.

Gaad is ranked as a Top 75 edge rusher in the country by all of the major recruiting outlets. ESPN has him the highest at No. 56 and the 12th best recruit in the state of Tennessee.

He took an official visit to the Badgers this past summer on May 30, less than two weeks after he had already committed to UCLA.

Gaad already flipped his commitment once, initially pledging to SMU before switching to UCLA. Now, he's back on the open market and drawing plenty of interest.

The report from Rivals indicates that he will also be taking a visit with Florida State this fall, and other schools that are talking to him include Auburn, Cal and Colorado.

He also posted interest from Ole Miss on social media Thursday.

It's no guarantee that the Badgers land him, but Fickell and his staff are smart to go right back after him the moment UCLA lost him.

Wisconsin lost a 2026 edge rusher commit this summer who flipped to Ole Miss, so Gaad could be a nice replacement.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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