Wisconsin football 2025 signing class superlatives: Biggest win, best flip and missing pieces

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s recruiting staff has abided by a simple philosophy when it comes to selling the program to out-of-state recruits.

“The ability to get them on campus is what really wins,” director of recruiting Pat Lambert said. “When you see Madison, you’re blown away.”

That strategy doesn’t work for every recruit. But it has worked quite well for enough of them in recent classes. Case in point: Wisconsin’s 2025 recruiting class, which signed on Wednesday during the early signing period and features eight 247Sports Composite four-star prospects from seven different states.

There were recruiting wins in nearby states such as Illinois (outside linebacker Jaylen Williams), Ohio (cornerback Jaimier Scott) and Indiana (receiver Eugene Hilton Jr.). But Wisconsin also demonstrated its national reach by picking up commitments from Florida (quarterback Carter Smith and outside linebacker Nicolas Clayton), Arizona (offensive lineman Logan Powell), Massachusetts (offensive lineman Hardy Watts) and the Badgers’ first New Mexico prospect in the online ranking era (linebacker Mason Posa).

The hope is that many of the players from the last two recruiting classes under Luke Fickell form the backbone of Wisconsin’s future. Here are some Class of 2025 superlatives:

Biggest recruiting win: QB Carter Smith

It’s not often a four-star, top-15 quarterback suddenly becomes available five weeks before the early signing period — though it certainly happened more during this recruiting cycle with a carousel of commitment changes. Smith’s decommitment from Michigan opened the door for Wisconsin to land a potential difference-maker. Smith could represent Fickell’s most significant high school addition given how desperate Wisconsin is for quality quarterback play.

Even if Smith isn’t ready in Year 1, he has the talent and maturity to play early in his career. Smith gives Wisconsin a legitimate dual-threat quarterback. His athleticism and toughness make him a dangerous option on the ground, but it also forces the defense toward the line of scrimmage, which allows him to stretch the field with superb arm strength.

Most intriguing defensive player: ILB Mason Posa

Posa, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound prospect and three-time state wrestling champion in New Mexico, gives off the vibes of previous Wisconsin linebackers such as Leo Chenal and Nick Herbig. They’re all players whose playmaking ability was obvious in high school, indicating they could be impact performers early in college. Wisconsin beat Oregon and Texas A&M for Posa. Director of player personnel Max Stienecker said he “never met a more Luke Fickell recruit in the history of recruiting” because of Posa’s wrestling background, toughness and competitiveness.

Wisconsin enters next season with Christian Alliegro and Tackett Curtis as likely starters at inside linebacker. But there are only four other scholarship players on the roster right now: Tyler Jansey, Landon Gauthier, Posa and fellow incoming freshman Cooper Catalano (who broke the state of Wisconsin career tackling record). Posa has a chance to quickly work his way up the depth chart.

Most intriguing offensive player: WR Eugene Hilton Jr.

Hilton’s football coach at Zionsville (Ind.) High School, Scott Turnquist, said Hilton is the best player he’s ever coached in terms of his ability to track the ball in the air and make a play on it out of a variety of routes. He racked up 2,162 career receiving yards and 29 touchdowns.

Zionsville utilized him as a tailback and a Wildcat quarterback. Perhaps no play better encapsulated his playmaking ability than when he scored on a two-point conversion out of the Wildcat, racing to the right sideline and zipping past a tackle attempt at the 4-yard line to beat Carmel 29-28 in a playoff game last month. Hilton also has an advanced knowledge of the game as the son of former NFL wide receiver T.Y. Hilton.

adding another major offensive weapon to the arsenal 🎯

Welcome to the Badger Family, @EugeneHiltonJr!#OnWisconsin x #JumpAroundMadTown25 pic.twitter.com/Lh9ZqtxZl2

— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) December 4, 2024

Most versatile: S Luke Emmerich

Emmerich, rated as the No. 3 player in Minnesota in the 247Sports Composite, did a little bit of everything for his high school team. He played defensive back, quarterback, wide receiver and returned punts — including a 75-yarder for a touchdown last season. Emmerich missed his junior season after suffering his second torn ACL but blew up as a recruit after he ran a 10.69-second 100-meter dash during track season last spring. He earned a dozen scholarship offers in nine days, including from Wisconsin.

The Badgers believe Emmerich can grow into a player who compares favorably to former Wisconsin safety Hunter Wohler. Emmerich can play on the back end and closer to the box because of his speed.

Biggest upside: OLB Samuel Lateju

Lateju (pronounced Lat-eh-jue) arrived at The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey in the summer of 2022 having played just one year of seven-on-seven flag football in Nigeria on a coed team with players of all ages. He took a chance to attend a boarding school in the United States to pursue academics and football, and it paid off. Lateju’s natural athleticism and strength made him a menace as a stand-up edge rusher, to the point that he earned a dozen major college scholarship offers a year and a half after starting the sport.

His high ceiling, coupled with the fact he doesn’t have many bad habits as a player because he is so new to the sport, makes him an appealing prospect. Lateju is one of three outside linebackers in the class, along with Williams and Clayton. Darryl Peterson and Sebastian Cheeks are the only upperclassmen on the roster at the position, which could give a younger crop of players a chance to earn snaps.

Best commitment flip: OLB Jaylen Williams

This is a category that has a few options: Williams (Michigan), defensive lineman Torin Pettaway (Minnesota), tight end Emmett Bork (Michigan State) and cornerback Cairo Skanes (Miami of Ohio). But Williams gets the nod because he’s a truly high-end prospect who could be a young difference-maker.

He’s listed as the No. 30 defensive lineman nationally in the 247Sports Composite, but Wisconsin recruited the 6-6, 265-pound prospect as an outside linebacker to better fit a defensive shift toward more size on the boundary side. The only player at the position who was 6-6 for Wisconsin last season was Aaron Witt, and Williams appears to be more athletic. His length can disrupt passing lanes, and his quickness can cause offensive linemen issues off the snap.

Biggest recruiting loss: K Erik Schmidt

I could go any number of directions with this one because Wisconsin lost six players who initially committed in the class: cornerback Rukeem Stroud (UCF), safety Cody Haddad (Ohio State), defensive lineman Wilnerson Telemaque (West Virginia), outside linebacker Brenden Anes (Tennessee), kicker Erik Schmidt (Notre Dame) and receiver Cameron Miller (Kentucky). Haddad and Miller probably were the two players who intrigued me most. But I’m picking Schmidt because of the circumstances surrounding his departure.

Wisconsin wanted Schmidt to walk on during his first semester and earn a scholarship in the second semester, likely because the Badgers would have otherwise had three specialists on scholarship next season. Notre Dame came in late with a full-ride scholarship offer from the start. As a result, Wisconsin lost an in-state player who happened to be one of the best at his position in the country. Schmidt was ranked the No. 1 punter and No. 26 kicker by Kohl’s Kicking Camp. He averaged 46 yards per punt as a senior at Marquette and made 10 of 13 field goals, including a school-record 55-yarder.

Biggest miss: Running back

Wisconsin’s staff felt good about signing three running backs in the 2024 class, including four-star prospects Darrion Dupree and Dilin Jones. Those two players look like they’ll represent the future at the position. As a result, the Badgers were more selective in the 2025 class. They focused on four-star running back Byron Louis, who ultimately signed with Florida.

Wisconsin offered scholarships to 21 running backs in the class but didn’t land any of them. With Chez Mellusi and Tawee Walker moving on, there are just five scholarship running backs on the roster as of now: Jackson Acker, Cade Yacamelli, Dupree, Jones and Gideon Ituka. This is a position that could require Wisconsin to seek help through the transfer portal.

Best recruiter: Offensive line coach A.J. Blazek

Blazek has brought much-needed stability to Wisconsin’s offensive line as the fourth position coach there in as many seasons. His personable nature and ability to teach resonated with current players, and it’s also been a critical element in recruiting. Blazek went 4-for-4 during official visit season this summer, landing commitments in the 2025 class from four-star offensive linemen Powell and Watts, as well as three-star prospects Nolan Davenport and Cam Clark.

With in-state recruit Michael Roeske also signed, that gives Blazek five true freshmen to work with next season and 10 scholarship offensive linemen in the last two recruiting classes, including four four-star prospects. Blazek already has made inroads in the 2026 class, with a commitment from 6-6, 320-pound offensive lineman Benjamin Novak.

(Photo of Eugene Hilton:  Courtesy of Tom Marron Photography)