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Top 75 OT for 2026 de-commits from Wisconsin Badgers after loss to Indiana Hoosiers

The Wisconsin Badgers lost one of their top offensive line recruits for the 2026 class. He is the third recruit for next year to de-commit from the program this season.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin received its sixth commitment of the 2026 class from three-star Virginia offensive lineman Maddox Cochrane, center, the weekend of April 19.
Wisconsin received its sixth commitment of the 2026 class from three-star Virginia offensive lineman Maddox Cochrane, center, the weekend of April 19. | Jake Kocorowski

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers lost one of their top offensive line recruits for the 2026 class on Monday.

Three-star offensive tackle Maddox Cochraine from Midlothian, Virginia announced he was de-committing from the program, two days after the Badgers lost to No. 2 Indiana on Saturday.

In a statement posted to social media, Cochrane thanked the Wisconsin coaching staff for their recruiting and said he has nothing but respect for the program.

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Still, he decided it was in his best interest to de-commit from the school and seek other opportunities elsewhere.

Cochrane is ranked as a Top 75 offensive tackle in the country by both 247Sports and ESPN.

Listed at 6-foot-7, 285 pounds, he was the only "true" offensive tackle in the Badgers' 2026 recruiting class. The only other offensive lineman committed for next year is Benjamin Novak from Merrillville, Indiana, who is listed as an interior lineman but has tackle versatility.

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Cochrane is the third player from Wisconsin's 2026 class to de-commit during the season. His change of heart comes two weeks after three-star linebacker Aden Reeder made the same decision during the team's second bye week.

As recently as a month ago, Cochrane was one of a handful of Badgers recruits who reaffirmed their commitment to UW through a series of social media posts about why they picked Wisconsin.

The Badgers have been fending off increased interest in their recruits as the team has stacked up losses and Luke Fickell faced job security questions.

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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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