Wisconsin flips 3-star running back Qwantavius Wiggins
The Badgers add another running back to its 2026 class, flipping Qwantavius Wiggins from Florida International.
The Wisconsin football team is riding the momentum from its 13-10 victory over No. 23 Washington on Saturday evening. The Badgers are capitalizing on their victory and the excitement from the game by landing a commitment from one of their visiting prospects.
Qwantavius ‘Fatboy’ Wiggins (Fairburn, Georgia), a 3-star running back who was committed to Florida International, was in attendance for the game.
After his visit to Madison, Wiggins flipped his commitment from the FIU Panthers to the Badgers, giving them their second running back in their 2026 recruiting class.
Recruiting profile for the new Wisconsin running back
According to 247Sports, Wiggins is a 3-star prospect that stands at 5’10” and 195 lbs. The recruiting site ranks him as the 24th running back in the 2026 class.
The 247Sports Composite, which takes into account other recruiting sites and rankings, has the new Wisconsin running back as the 59th running back and the 923rd-overall prospect in the country.
Florida State and Auburn were also trying to flip the Georgia running back.
Wiggins holds 27 Division 1 offers from some Power 4 schools like Florida State, Auburn, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. He also holds offers from USF, Cincinnati, UCONN, Oregon State, and many more.
How Wiggins’ commitment impacts the 2026 class
Wiggins is the second running back in the Badgers’ 2026 class, joining 4-star running back Amari Latimer, who is, coincidentally, also from Georgia.
He is the 15th member of the 2026 class for the Badgers. His addition pushes the Badgers to No. 62 in the class rankings via the 247Sports Class Rankings. The Badgers are also 14th in the Big Ten rankings.
Wiggins’ commitment could cause some concern among fans, potentially signalling a flip from Latimer, who has been taking visits to other schools over the past few weeks. But according to Badger Connect reporter Jesse Temple, the program is planning on taking two running backs, so he is not a replacement, but a complement to Latimer.
Scouting report for Qwantavius Wiggins
The new running back in the Badgers’ class is a perfect pairing with Amari Latimer. While Latimer (5’11”, 230 lbs) is more of a power back who is difficult to bring to the ground, Wiggins is more of a one-cut speed back.
That doesn’t mean he avoids contact; in fact, there are multiple instances in his film where he breaks tackles and is not easy to take down.
His speed and acceleration, however, are his biggest assets. He has great vision and patience, waiting for a hole to open up, and then puts his foot in the ground and explodes, blowing past defenders time and time again.
Below is his mid-season film from this season via Hudl.
Fickell and the Wisconsin football team have some momentum
It might not seem like a big deal, but that win over Washington, no matter how ugly it was, is already paying dividends.
Players within the program clearly support Fickell and still believe in where he can lead the team in the future. Current commits have expressed their happiness after Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh told ESPN that Fickell would be back for another season.
The schedule for the Badgers this season was historically difficult. Getting a win against a ranked team, the first for Fickell in his time in Madison, may have been the spark actually to get this thing turned around.
Between that belief and the infusion of money into the program to make the Badgers more competitive in NIL and the transfer portal.
All of this doesn’t mean I think the Badgers are going to do a complete 180 and win out to become bowl-eligible. There is still a long way to go for this program to become a contender, let alone relevant, in the Big Ten.
But if they continue to improve their play and add some big pieces, like Qwantavius Wiggins, this offseason, there may be more confidence in Fickell and this program than it seemed just a week ago.
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