"I Just Can't" - Dark Times In Wisconsin As Multiple O-Line Recruits De-Commit, Leaving The Badgers With Zero OL Commits For Their 2026 Class
Damn. That's a pretty harsh quote. Pretty fair. But still harsh. I'm sure I'd be thinking the same thing if I were in his shoes, but this report is rubbing salt in the wound a bit. Like the Wisconsin Badgers football program isn't down bad enough already. They're already losing their top in-state recruits to the likes of Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, North Dakota State. (247sports).
And if having that single quote out there, which was reported by Wisconsin insider Evan Flood in a since deleted tweet, wasn't a bad enough look for Wisconsin. On top of that, earlier today, the Badgers lost yet another offensive lineman recruit. Yet another 3-star, Benjamin Novak, flipped from Wisconsin to Indiana. Leaving the Wisconsin Badgers with a grand total of ZERO o-line commits for their upcoming recruiting class.
It's dark times for Wisconsin football right now. When 3-star recruits (which are nothing to sneeze at, but not recruits national championship contenders are lining up to fight over) are turning down the opportunity play o-line at Wisconsin… in a thin recruiting class… meaning they have an incredible chance to be consistent starters for a university that historically has (big emphasis on historically) one of the best offensive lines in football… when 3-star recruits are turning their nose up at that opportunity, that's gotta hurt for Wisconsin fans. I'm sorry Big Cat.
I said this same thing about Michigan State in a blog I wrote the other day, but it's such a shame Wisconsin football has been down for so long. Not just for Wisconsin, but for all the Big Ten. Now more than ever, the Big Ten needs depth. They seriously need teams like Wisconsin, Michigan State, Nebraska, Washington, UCLA, anybody to be competitive again. They don't have to win national championships. They don't even have to make the playoffs. But when they're not even a threat to put up a fight against the top of the Big Ten… when the Big Ten is relying on the likes of Indiana to carry water for them, that's not great for the conference.
Wisconsin desperately needs a change. In a lot of areas. And apparently that's not coming in the form of a new head coach. At least not yet. The administration has been adamant about bringing Luke Fickell back for 2026. Despite an overall losing record since taking over in 2022.
Another thing Wisconsin desperately needs to figure out is their student section situation. They have the Jump Around tradition which is one of the best in college football when their fans are into it.
Wisconsin has SO MUCH potential in that regard. But for whatever reason, they have a terrible time getting students into their seats on time. It takes an entire quarter of football, if not more, to fill that thing up. The way they go about filing students into the stadium just seems bizarre.
Badger Herald – “When you show up right around game time, it’s really crazy trying to get into the stadium and then getting into your seat,” UW junior Gavin Calteux said. “It does take a lot of time, and if there was a faster way of letting all of the students in, the student section would fill up faster and see more of the game.”
Once students have arrived, the seating then becomes an issue, according to Calteux. A fan may be able to earn a seat closer to the action by showing up later, which isn’t appealing to the fan who showed up before kickoff.
It’s a system to help file students in an organized manner for security purposes but gives advantages to some, often based off of luck. That characteristic can become confusing to passionate and committed fans such as Calteux.
“It’s kind of frustrating when I show up early and I get placed in the middle of a section when there’s open sections, like completely open sections,” Calteux said.
That's truly absurd. They're literally incentivizing students to not show up to the game on time. You simply have to fix that Wisconsin. When you're undefeated late in the season, and everybody wants to go to your games, I'm sure you can get away with it. But when you need to drum up support in a down year, that is such a detriment to the student fan experience.
I'm rooting for you Wisconsin. Maybe this influx of cash, and increased commitment to the program will help Luke Fickell get his team to the next level. But I have my doubts. Personally, I think Wisconsin HAS to get back to their roots. Get a coach who's going to instill toughness. Run the football. Land all of your big ass in-state offensive lineman. Be the Wisconsin football I grew up with.