Wisconsin football lands commitment from 2026 athlete Zion Legree
The Badgers complete a trade with Ole Miss...kind of
Trades in college football do not exist, but the Ole Miss and Wisconsin football teams got about as close as you can to a trade without it actually being a trade.
Wisconsin offered 2026 athlete Zion Legree (Destin, FL) a scholarship offer in May, even though he was committed to Ole Miss. Since the offer, there were rumors and murmurs of a potential flip to the Badgers. While a flip never actually happened, Legree did de-commit from the Rebels about two weeks later.
Since his de-commitment, he earned an offer from Nebraska and got plenty of other interest from other schools, including his home-state Florida Gators. The 3-star prospect had over 20 Division I scholarships to choose from.
He took an official visit with the Badgers over the weekend, and the coaching staff did enough to earn a pledge before he left town.
In return, in the hypothetical and fake trade, Ole Miss received a commitment from 3-star edge rusher Carmelow Reed, who committed to the Badgers in early April. He took an official visit to Ole Miss at the end of May, and on June 3rd, the Badgers’ top-ranked commit at the time flipped to the Rebels.
What are the Badgers getting in their newest addition?
Speed. Hot, nasty badass speed.
Legree is going to be a fun piece in the new Wisconsin football offense. He is going to be a receiver with the Badgers, but will be labeled a ‘gadget’ player with his speed and athleticism. He reminds me a lot of Aron Cruickshank, a receiver who could pop off for a huge play on offense or return game for the Badgers from 2018-2019.
He isn’t likely going to be your straight-forward receiver who is just running routes. I think the coaching staff is going to try to do what they can to get the ball in his hands and let him make a play, whether that’s catching passes or running jet sweeps and screens.
In his junior season film, you can see he lines up all over the field. He lines up in the slot as a boundary receiver and even in the backfield. As long as you can get the ball in his hands, good things will happen.
Right now, if you take a look at the receiver room for the Badgers, there isn’t necessarily a player with his skill set and speed. Maybe Kyan Berry-Johnson or Trech Kekahuna? Trech is probably going to be the main slot receiver, but I don’t even think he has the speed that Legree possesses.
How does Legree’s commitment affect recruiting?
Legree joins 3-star receiver Tayshon Bardo as committed receivers. If I had to guess, I’d say the Badgers are probably looking to add one more receiver to finish off the position in their 2026 class.
There are a couple of targets out there yet, but in my opinion, the top target is 4-star receiver Jayden Petit. Petit was among the prospects that was in Madison for the Badgers’ monstrous official visit weekend at the start of June that yielded multiple commitments already. Landing a commitment from Petit would be a huge addition to the Badgers’ 2026 class.
Zachary Washington has been a high target for the Badgers for over a year. He received multiple 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions in favor of the Badgers just a short time ago. But he left his official visit in Madison without committing and continued to take official visits with Michigan State and West Virginia.
Now, those Crystal Ball predictions are flipping to Michigan State, all from Wisconsin writers. Wisconsin may have lost out to the Spartans, but Legree’s commitment may have also cost Washington a spot with Wisconsin in the end.
The addition of Legree gives the Badgers 13 players in their class. His commitment also pushes Wisconsin up to the No. 33 class in the national team rankings on 247Sports at the time of his commitment.
What’s crazy is that even at No. 33 nationally, the Badgers are just No. 11 in the Big Ten in the recruiting rankings. It just goes to show how strong the Big Ten is right now, with 11 teams ranked in the top 33 nationally.
This class didn’t start off blazing hot, but since the start of official visit season, the Wisconsin football coaching staff is quietly putting together a solid class.
Let’s keep the train rolling!
On Wisconsin.
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