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Why UCLA firing head coach DeShaun Foster is a big win for Wisconsin Badgers football recruiting

Lorin Cox|
Aug 28, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; A Wisconsin Badgers cheerleader carries a Wisconsin flag during the game against the Miami (OH) RedHawks at Camp Randall Stadium.
Aug 28, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; A Wisconsin Badgers cheerleader carries a Wisconsin flag during the game against the Miami (OH) RedHawks at Camp Randall Stadium. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers won't face UCLA until 2026, but the Bruins firing head coach DeShaun Foster after three games is still a win for Luke Fickell, off the field.

It completely changes the game when it comes to recruiting.

The Badgers are excited about 2026 four-star quarterback commit Ryan Hopkins of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California.

His school is less than 50 miles from the UCLA campus, and the Bruins offered Hopkins a scholarship last month despite his commitment to Wisconsin.

A change in coaching staff isn't going to make flipping him any easier for the Bruins, helping secure the Badgers' hold on their future QB.

The firing of Foster also gives Fickell a chance to pursue recruits he thought he had lost. Three-star edge rusher Yahya Gaad from Medina, Tennessee announced Sunday he was reopening his recruiting after the coaching change.

He took an official visit with Wisconsin back in May, after already committing to UCLA, but now the Badgers have a real chance to swing him back.

Gaad is ranked a Top 75 edge rusher in the country by all the major recruiting outlets and a Top 20 player from the state of Tennessee.

All of the players on the Bruins roster are eligible to enter a special transfer portal window following the firing, which gives Fickell's staff an opportunity to steal more talent from a Big Ten rival.

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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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