Three Takeaway From Wisconsin Football's Dominant Recruiting Week

What we learned from the Badgers' scorching hot week on the recruiting trail.

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Wisconsin football is coming off arguably its best high school recruiting week in the Luke Fickell era.

The Badgers kicked things off on Monday by adding Delaware ATH DJ Davis, who they plan to play at safety in Madison.

They followed that up with their first defensive line pledge in the 2027 cycle, earning a verbal commitment from Will Zaccagnino.

Defensive line coach EJ Whitlow wasn't done; the very next day, he landed the 300-poundDavid Hill out of Illinois.

To wrap things up, Wisconsin made an addition to its running back room for this upcoming season, reeling in top-ranked JUCO running back Julius Pope out of Northwest Mississippi Community College.

With the dust settling, here's three takeaways from Wisconsin's blazing hot week on the recruiting trail:

1. EJ Whitlow does it again

Wisconsin Defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow. | Mark Stewart / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Wisconsin's defensive line coach EJ Whitlow, who's going into his third year with the program, signed two defensive linemen in his first recruiting class (Xavier Ukponu, Torin Pettaway) and two in his second (Arthur Scott an Djidou Bah). Now, in the span of two days, he's got two more signees in his third high school recruiting cycle in Madison.

Whitlow could very feasibly target another defensive lineman in the 2027 cycle, as the Badgers have three players in the room on their final year of eligibility and set to depart the program. If he calls it a day at two, however, it'll still be another solid cycle from Whitlow.

2. Wisconsin isn't messing around at running back

Wisconsin running back Bryan Jackson partakes in spring practice. | Christian Borman

When the Badgers' spring practice period wrapped up, they had five scholarship running backs with a sixth (true freshman Qwantavius "Fatboy" Wiggins) set to join the team in the summer. Immediately after the conclusion of spring ball, they added another player to what already appeared to be a deep and talented room.

The addition of Pope tells you a few things. Wisconsin wanted more depth at tailback, obviously, but they also likely wanted another skilled receiving back, as that's one of the main traits Pope brings to the table — he caught 29 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns at the JUCO level last fall and appears to be quite fluid out of the backfield. What's more, Pope gives the Badgers another developmental young back, as he has three years of eligibility remaining.

3. Badgers continue to target specific traits

Wisconsin commit DJ Davis. | Andre L. Smith/Special to the Delaware News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ahead of the 2025 season, with Wisconsin coming off a shoddy 2024 in many areas but particularly run defense, the coaching staff emphasized getting bigger in the defensive trenches. They did just that in the transfer portal, and sure enough, the Badgers climbed all the way to No. 15 in the country in run defense.

This offseason, after a year of poor pass coverage — especially in man-to-man — from their secondary, the Badgers emphasized speed in the defensive backs they recruited.

This week, they landed a 300-pound defensive lineman and a track-star safety who ran an 11.43 in the 100-meter.

Sure, every program wants big and fast players to some degree, but Wisconsin has prioritized those traits at key positions and it worked last season in the defensive trenches. Can it work in the secondary this fall?