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Wisconsin football: Recruiting and transfer portal updates (12/23)

An overview of all of the recruiting and transfer portal news for the Wisconsin Badgers over the past seven days.

Matt Belz

In this story:

The Wisconsin Badgers and head coach Luke Fickell put together another productive week on the recruiting trail. While Early Signing Day dominated the headlines, the football program also made several new scholarship offers and appears to be trending towards another commitment in the 2024 recruiting class.

With so much going on in the world of recruiting here is a recruiting breakdown from the past week.

Contents

  1. Four-star QB Mabrey Mettauer trending towards UW
  2. Wisconsin signs 15 scholarship players on Early Signing Day
  3. Wisconsin football signs five walk-ons 
  4. Luke Fickell not done in 2023
  5. New scholarship offers go out across the country

Four-star QB Mabrey Mettauer trending towards UW

Texas four-star Mabrey Mettauer shared on Twitter that he will announce his commitment on Christmas eve. As things stand, everything is pointing towards the Badgers potentially winning his recruitment. 

Offered by the previous staff, Mettauer visited Madison this fall in early September and then was reoffered by head coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo last week. With longstanding relationships with both coaches and interest in the university, things appear to be aligning right for Wisconsin. 

Mettauer is close with Phil Longo dating back to his time in North Carolina, and the Texas star has had great things to say about Wisconsin throughout the process. 

He is also considering a few other schools at this point and boasts scholarship offers from over 20 Power-5 schools, including Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Cal, Florida, Kansas State, LSU, Miami, Ole Miss, and TCU. 

One of the top quarterbacks in the country, Mettauer would be a phenomenal early addition to the 2024 class, and would be a tremendous recruiting ambassador for the staff.

His decision is just one day away. 

Wisconsin signs 15 scholarship players on Early Signing Day

The Badgers made some late noise on Early Signing Day landing commitments from four-star cornerback Amare Snowden and three-star wide receiver Trech Kekahuna. With those two new additions to the class, Wisconsin finished with the following scholarship group: 

  • Christian Alliegro (outside linebacker)
  • Jace Arnold (cornerback)
  • Tucker Ashcraft (tight end)
  • Jonas Duclona (cornerback)
  • James Durand (offensive lineman)
  • Tyler Jansey (linebacker)
  • Trech Kekahuna (wide receiver)
  • Cole LaCrue (quarterback)
  • Jordan Mayer (outside linebacker)
  • Braedyn Moore (safety)
  • Amare Snowden (defensive back)
  • Justin Taylor (defensive back)
  • A.J. Tisdell (cornerback)
  • Nate White (running back)
  • Nick Evers (transfer quarterback)*

You can read more about each scholarship player signed here, and also check out our Early Signing Day standouts and awards. 

Wisconsin football signs five walk-ons 

The Badgers also added a handful of walk-on players to their 2023 roster officially this week as well. Those five individuals are:

  • Will McDonald (defensive end)
  • Zack Mlsna (offensive lineman)
  • Manny Mullens (transfer defensive lineman)*
  • Angel Toombs (defensive end)
  • Evan Van Dyn Hoven (outside linebacker)

Wisconsin will sign more walk-ons in February during National Signing Day, but you can read more about the five newest walk-ons here. 

Luke Fickell not done in 2023

During his Early Signing Day press conference, Luke Fickell noted that there are still areas on the team where the coaching staff will continue to look for additional players to add to this class. Fickell specifically mentioned offensive and defensive line, as well as wide receiver as positions where they would continue to recruit in January. 

With National Signing Day taking place in early February, the Badgers now have a month and a half to shore up those positions. Two early names to know include Jamel Howard and Joe Crocker. 

Howard was committed to Wisconsin for most of the recruiting cycle but reopened his recruitment after Paul Chryst's firing. He has since taken a second official visit to Madison and the Badgers are battling Michigan and others from the talented nose tackle. He is arguably the No. 1 priority for the staff in the 2023 class right now. 

Another prospect to keep an eye on is Joe Crocker. A mammoth offensive tackle from Tennessee, the Badgers hosted him on multiple visits, but the staff initially took Christopher Terek to round out their offensive line class. With Terek now signed with Notre Dame, and Crocker recently decommitting from Mississippi State, he is one of the top offensive linemen available in the country. With Fickell specifically mentioning the o-line as a target area, Crocker makes a lot of sense. It will be interesting to see if Wisconsin reengages with the three-star offensive tackle. 

New scholarship offers go out across the country

Even with Early Signing Day going on, the coaching staff did not let up. In fact, the staff quickly turned their attention to the 2024 and 2025 classes, extending double-digit offers in the past week. 

Here is an overview of the prospects that came away with a scholarship offer this week:

  • Marques Easley (2024 offensive tackle)

A top-10 player in the state of Illinois for his grade, Kankakee offensive lineman Marques Easley should continue to see his recruitment take off. At 6-foot-7 and already 300 pounds he has the necessary size to be a dominant tackle in the Big Ten, and he has added several new offers in the past week, Wisconsin included. 

Some of his early offers include Cincinnati, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Texas A&M, Penn State, and Vanderbilt. 

  • Jaden Redell (2024 wide receiver)

At 6-foot-5 and over 215 pounds, Jaden Redell could project to play wide receiver or tight end at the next level. An early four-star prospect out of Missouri, Redell has plenty of scholarships to choose from already with Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and others already in pursuit. 

  • Brody Barnhardt (2024 safety)

From the state of North Carolina, three-star safety Brody Barnhart recently released a top-3 of NC State, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia. It will be interesting to see if this new offer moves the needle and gets Wisconsin into the mix as well. 

  • Josiah Martin (2024 wide receiver)

The Badgers became the latest Power 5 school to offer Texas wide receiver Josiah Martin. A 6-foot speedster, Martin has early scholarship offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Cal, Colorado, Michigan State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington State. 

  • Jordan Johnson-Rubell (2024 safety)

One of the top defensive players in the country, at one of the top high schools in the country, this is a necessary offer for the Badgers. Four-star safety Jordan Johnson-Rubell has offers from most of the blueblood, and we shall see if Wisconsin can land a visit down the road. 

  • Mylan Graham (2024 wide receiver)

The No. 1 player in the state of Indiana, four-star wide receiver Mylan Graham could wind up being a five-star at some point. Ohio State is the perceived favorite early on given their track record with wide-outs, but Alabama, Notre Dame, and others are also involve with Graham. 

  • Parker Livingstone (2024 wide receiver)

A dynamic wide receiver in the state of Texas, Parker Livingstone was actually reoffered by the new staff after previously earning an offer from Paul Chryst in the spring while visiting. The Badgers will continue to make a run at the 6-foot-4 junior who caught over 900 yards and 12 touchdowns this past season. 

  • Mekhai White (2024 athlete)

6-foot-2 athlete Mekhai White added an offer from Wisconsin on Thursday. From the state of Virginia, White could project to multiple positions at the next level, but primarily plays wide receiver and free safety for his high school team. He has plenty of scholarship offers to choose from with a ton of East Coast schools after him. 

  • Amari Jefferson (2024 wide receiver)

Committed to Tennessee to play baseball, Amari Jefferson is receiving plenty of interest on the grideron now too. In addition to a football offer from the Volunteers, he also has scholarship offers from Georgia, Kentucky, and South Carolina. 

  • Jordan Ross (2024 defensive end)

A consensus four-star prospect from Birmingham, Alabama, Jordan Ross is a top-100 prospect in the 2024 class. Georgia, Tennesse, Penn State, and USC are already in the mix for the 6-foot-5 edge rusher. 

  • JaCorey Whitted (2024 tight end)

A big and athletic tight end prospect out of Alabama, JaCorey Whitted picked up his most recent offer from Wisconsin. The 6-foot-5 pass catcher has offers from Auburn, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Tennessee, and UAB as well. 

  • Kavion Henderson (2024 defensive lineman)

Another Alabama prospect, Kavion Henderson is actually committed to Arkansas already, but given his four-star stature, this is an offer that it can't hurt to make. 

  • Sawyer Anderson (2025 quarterback)

One of the best young quarterbacks in the sophomore class, Texas signal-caller sawyer Anderson already holds additional scholarship offers from Arkansas, Boston College, Colorado, Mississippi State, Missouri, NC State, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, TCU, and Texas Tech. 

Anderson can move well outside the pocket and threw for over 3,000 yards this past season. 

  • Ryan Ghea (2025 tight end)

One of the best sophomore tight ends in the country, Wisconsin reoffered Ryan Ghea on December 21. The 6-foot-5 tight end actually visited the Badgers and Cincinnati on back-to-back weekends in October, so there is definitely familiarity and interest. 

  • Nate Roberts (2025 tight end)

Oklahoma tight end Nate Roberts also added an offer from the Badgers on December 21. Roberts is 6-foot-4 and has scholarship offers from Baylor, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas Tech early on. 

  • Bear Tenney (2025 tight end)

Wisconsin also reoffered 2025 tight end Bear Tenney this week. A four-star prospect, he originally earned his offer from the Badgers back in May, and has a laundry list of schools after him. 

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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