Wisconsin Football: Badgers 2021 Class Just Keeps Getting Better

With the recent commitment of 4-star TE Jack Pugh, the 2021 recruiting class for the Wisconsin Football program just keeps getting better.

The incoming 2020 class for the Wisconsin Football program is already the best they’ve ever had in the Online Rankings Era of recruiting. According to 247 Sports rankings, this year’s class was ranked 25th overall nationally and included five 4-star recruits, which was another school record.

However, the 2021 class appears to be even stronger. After going over a month without any commitments, on Monday, 4-star tight end Jack Pugh from Hilliard, Ohio announced his verbal-commitment to Wisconsin.

https://twitter.com/JackPugh7/status/1264994747170635776

Pugh is the 12th ranked tight end in the 2021 class by 247 Sports Composite rankings and had numerous other scholarship offers, including several from other Big Ten schools. In high school, Pugh has shown that he can lineup inline as well as out wide and that he is a very good athlete as well. With the tight end position potentially in flux in 2021 for the Badgers, this was a big recruit for them to land.

Joining Pugh in the 2021 class are 10 other hard commits, three of which are also 4-star recruits. This group 4-stars includes offensive tackle J.P. Benzschawel, offensive tackle Riley Mahlman, and safety Hunter Wohler. Wisconsin also has seven 3-star recruits locked in as well.

Overall 247 Sports has the Wisconsin Football team ranked 18th nationally at the moment and eighth in the Big Ten. But keep in mind that the Badgers only have 11 commits currently. Conference schools ahead of them like Penn State have 12, Maryland has 14, Rutgers is at 18, Minnesota is at 17, while Iowa and Michigan are at 15.

This of course is going to affect the points system that 247 Sports utilizes, simply because those schools have more players committed. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are landing more high-profile recruits than Wisconsin is.

And depending on how you feel about cryptic tweets, Pugh’s commitment could mean more big names are going to follow. Jensen Gebhardt, a recruiter at Wisconsin, sent out this tweet on Monday showing that the dominos were beginning to fall:

Ultimately who knows what Gebhardt was referring to, but a few names in the 2021 class to keep your eyes on in the coming weeks include 4-star DE/OLB T.J. Bollers from Tiffin, Iowa, 5-star offensive tackle Nolan Rucci from Lititz, Pennsylvania, and 3-star DE Darryl Peterson of Akron, Ohio, among others.

While we still have a ways to go until signing day and of course things can change, the 2021 class for the Wisconsin Badgers, with four 4-star recruits already committed, is shaping up to surpass the 2020 class as the best that they’ve had in the Online Rankings Era.

And that means that there is plenty to be excited about when it comes to the future of Badgers’ football as Coach Paul Chryst and Company continue to find success on the recruiting trail.