Wisconsin football recruiting updates: October 22nd, 2025
What's been happening in the recruiting side of Wisconsin football lately?
The product on the field for the Wisconsin football program has been abysmal this season. Thankfully, that hasn’t impacted the recruiting side of things — yet.
Here’s the latest news and happenings with Wisconsin football.
How stable is the 2026 class?
The 2026 class still has 15 committed players, but some cracks are starting to show. The team’s on-field performance makes it entirely understandable for players to second-guess their commitment, particularly if the coach they pledged to were to be fired, however unlikely that scenario may seem.
3-star receiver Tayshon Bardo is the lone player to de-commit from the program.
As of the time of this publication, the Badgers have the 56th-ranked class in the 2026 cycle, putting them 14th in the Big Ten.
A few wins at the end of the season, including the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe, could go a long way in reaffirming the commitments of the players they have and any potential additions to the class.
Ohio State targeting Wisconsin’s top recruit
Because of the struggles on the field, it isn’t just recruits potentially looking elsewhere. Other programs are starting to turn up the heat on players who are currently committed to Wisconsin.
It would be dumb not to, especially with some of the top players in the Badgers’ class.
The most notable player that the Badgers could potentially lose is running back Amari Latimer. Latimer, who many consider the top player in the class, has been committed to Wisconsin since June. The word early on was that he was solid with the Badgers. Now? Maybe not so much.
He recently took an official visit to Ohio State. Reports indicate he enjoyed the visit and would be a take for the Buckeyes. They could be a legitimate threat in flipping the 4-star running back. While it may have been premature, On3 Vice President of Recruiting and Transfer Portal, Steve Wiltfong, logged a prediction for Latimer to flip to the Buckeyes.
On top of that, Latimer was seen wearing Ohio State sleeves in a recent game he played in.
After Wisconsin fans were up in arms over it on social media. Latimer replied to some of the fans, apologizing.
“I do understand your point of view. That wasn’t my intent but understand how it looks and how it’s disrespectful. Wasn’t my intent but you are not wrong for feeling how you feel. This was on me. I’m gonna correct this.”
Side note: don’t be a dick and tweet at players. He’s a kid. It’s not his job to appease your fandom.
Losing Latimer would be a huge blow to the Badgers’ class, but as of right now, the Badgers are still hanging on, and Luke Fickell seems to be a big reason why he’s sticking with Wisconsin — for now.
Two current commits are lining up other visits
To go along with Latimer, 3-star defensive lineman Djidjou Bah has been lining up visits with other schools at a high rate. When this type of thing happens, it’s usually a sign he’s about to jump ship.
Nebraska recently offered Bah, and apparently, there is quite a bit of mutual interest there. He is working on a time to visit the Huskers in the near future.
Joining Nebraska are Georgia Tech and Maryland. He is set to visit Georgia Tech this weekend and is expected to visit Maryland in the near future as well.
Bah took a visit to Missouri just a couple of months ago, too.
He was on hand for the Badgers’ 37-0 `loss to Iowa. He came away with some interesting comments, saying, “The visit was cool. The game itself was tough, though, and kind of frustrating to watch.”
Things don’t seem to be trending in favor of Wisconsin in Bah’s recruitment.
Similarly, committed right end Jack Janda has been busy lining up other visits. Right now, he has visits lined up with Iowa (Nov. 8) and Michigan State (Nov. 15) according to 247Sports reports, Allen Trieu.
Both programs are recruiting Janda at defensive line, rather than tight end. The Badgers also have Jack Sievers as a committed tight end in the 2026 class.
Other commits are racking up offers elsewhere
Like I said earlier, other programs are smelling blood in the water. They are making offers to committed players with the state of the Wisconsin football program.
One of those players being targeted is 4-star receiver Jayden Petit. The Badgers earned his commitment over Oklahoma and others in June. It was a huge recruiting win for Fickell and his staff.
There’s no reason to believe Petit is actively looking for other programs, but he recently announced on social media a scholarship offer from Washington. Now, players do this all the time, even if they are fully committed to another program, but there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of that from Petit earlier.
3-star linebacker Aden Reeder has also been racking up other offers. He announced offers from Northwestern, Kentucky, and Michigan, all in the past 24 hours.
Again, nothing is imminent, but it’s not something you like to see.
Wisconsin picks up a pair of commitments
It’s not all bad news on the recruiting front. The program has picked up a pair of commitments to its 2026 class.
First, the Badgers snagged 3-star edge Yahya Gaad, who recently de-committed from UCLA after they fired their head coach a few weeks ago. Gaad is the third-ranked player in the Badgers’ 2026 class, according to 247Sports.
Gaad holds over 24 offers, and a handful from Power Four teams, including Georgia, Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Vanderbilt, and more.
The Badgers also gained a commitment from McCoy Smith, an in-state preferred walk-on from Waunakee. Smith is listed as a defensive tackle and is 5-10, 220 lbs according to his Hudl account.
It means a lot to have you here at The Badger Backer. I’m passionate about digging deep into Wisconsin football and basketball, and your readership makes it all worthwhile. Catch up on previous posts or ensure you don’t miss anything by subscribing below! Let’s keep the Badger conversation going!
You can find more of my work at All Badgers. Follow me on ‘X’ @christianborman and @thebadgerbacker!
The Badger Backer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.