Why Wisconsin FB Will Survive Misses on 2024 In-State Recruits
Wisconsin has missed out on several 2024 in-state recruits, but we're here to explain why the Badgers will be fine.
Madison, Wis. -- Wisconsin football has traditionally done an excellent job of keeping the recruiting "wall" around the state in terms of turning in-state kids into Badgers.
It helps that they're the only FBS school in the state, but I digress.
The program has signed the No. 1 player in Wisconsin every season dating back to 2017 — every season until now, that is. It's also worth mentioning that the Badgers secured seven of the 10 four-star recruits during that stretch, according to the 247Sports composite.
That said, recent events regarding in-state recruiting in the 2024 cycle have people in an uproar and upset with Luke Fickell for all the wrong reasons.
Let's get you up to speed if you don't know what I'm talking about.
A Look at the Top In-State Recruits in 2024 Class
In Wisconsin, 247Sports has 16 players rated as three-star prospects or better who have received division one offers. Of that group, roughly 10 of them are high-major talents.
As it stands, Wisconsin football has commitments from three players from the 2024 in-state class: Rob Booker (No. 5), Derek Jensen (No. 6), and Landon Gauthier (No. 10). They're also in deep with four-star, top 200 prospect Nathan Roy, who plays offensive tackle for Mukwonago.
But it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows (we'll get to context in a moment).
From a pure in-state recruiting standpoint, there's no denying that it stung when a talented four-star kid like Donovan Harbour left for another Big Ten school like Penn State.
And on the surface, it stings a little more when the No. 2 player, a dynamic running back, Corey Smith, appears to be headed there to join Harbour and new Nittany Lion commit Garrett Sexton, who Wisconsin didn't offer until a week ago (if UW had legitimate interest they botched this recruitment, IMO).
Even Sam Pilof, Wisconsin's No. 4 in-state player, committed to Rutgers, but we won't even discuss the logistics of why that might have happened.
While this news may be disappointing for fans, it's important to remember that the Badgers survived similar situations in the past and are well-positioned to continue their success on the field moving forward.
Their Recruiting Process Deserves Some Context...
I can't sit here and tell you that the Wisconsin football program would have landed all the aforementioned players if they had been more involved in their recruitment.
However, it's worth mentioning that multiple outlets reported Luke Fickell and his staff, at least in the case of Harbour and Smith, invited them to Madison for a closer look during their junior day in January and decided after that to go a different direction.
It's not like coach Fickell and his staff lost these players in some grind-it-out recruitment battle. Instead, they came in, did their own evaluations, and decided which kids they intended to prioritize on their board.
It's not like these top talents took one look at what the Badgers new regime had to offer and headed for the hills. These blue-chip types of prospects are getting offers from other nationally recognized brands, and unless they had their heart set on wearing cardinal and white, it's not unusual for them to see if the grass is greener.
Why UW Will Survive Without These In-State Recruits
One of the main reasons why it's not the end of the world for the Badgers to miss out on some top 2024 in-state talents is that this staff has a proven track record of recruiting well outside Wisconsin.
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