Despite his distinct lack of on-field success, Wisconsin football head coach Luke Fickell has lured some impressively highly-touted prospects to Madison in his tenure with the Badgers.
Offensive lineman Kevin Heywood (consensus top-60 prospect nationally), running back Dilin Jones (consensus top-140) and linebacker Mason Posa (consensus top-190) all come to mind.
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Then, of course, there’s the litany of highly sought-after transfers Fickell and company have convinced to come to Madison, an underwhelming number of which actually made an impact on the field.
Still, the point is that Fickell hasn’t really missed a beat as a recruiter, even while his teams have had some of the most horrendous results on Saturdays that Badger fans have seen this century.
Despite his lack of on-field success, Fickell has largely been a successful recruiter in Madison. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
And yet, Thursday’s verbal commitment from Cole Reiter, Germantown’s finest, is arguably the biggest commitment in the Fickell era thus far.
Now, in this day and age, a verbal “commitment” can mean very little until pen is put to paper and a national letter of intent is signed. But the native sun Reiter’s pledge to the Badgers feels different; it was far from a hasty commitment, and he’s already putting in work on the recruiting trail for Wisconsin.
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Certain recruits can change the perception of a program before they even play a snap. And while a Big Ten school landing an in-state four-star offensive lineman won’t make national news, it’s extremely significant for Wisconsin.
In Fickell’s first full recruiting class with Wisconsin, he signed just three prospects from inside the Dairy State. In the class of 2027, he’s currently up to five verbal pledges – ALL of whom hail from Wisconsin.
The In-State Recruiting Myth
I don’t subscribe to the theory that in-state recruiting is one of the biggest factor’s for Wisconsin’s success or lack thereof. If the Badgers like a player from inside the state, they should absolutely make him a priority and have a good-to-great shot at landing him. But Wisconsin has had all kinds of problems in the Fickell tenure, none of which stem from an inability to land the state’s top prospects.
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Still, it is significant for perception. And the talent inside the Badger State in the class of 2027 is nothing to scoff at. Between the three blue chippers (Reiter, Kingston Allen and Korz Lorken, two of whom are Wisconsin commits) and the rest of the three-star prospects, there’s some seriously talented juniors in Wisconsin right now.
By landing Lorken and now Reiter – and being projected to land the state’s highest-ranked prospect on 247Sports, tailback Kingston Allen – Fickell and his staff are proving they can keep the top talent inside Wisconsin. But more importantly, “O-Line U” has finally convinced a blue-chip offensive lineman from Wisconsin to stay home. They were 0-for-3 previously: Owen Strebig (Notre Dame) Garrett Sexton (Penn State), and Nathan Roy (Minnesota).
Reiter’s commitment should also have something of a domino effect. As mentioned, he’s gotten to work on the recruiting trail already, with in-state twins Hunter and Reece Mallinger his prime targets.
But perception is why this matters the most. Wisconsin has let rival Big Ten programs waltz into its state and nab its top prospects at its most sacred position. Reiter’s commitment signifies that could be changing.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/wisconsin as Why In-State OL Cole Reiter is Luke Fickell’s Biggest Recruiting Win Yet.
