How Luke Fickell landed his first recruit at Wisconsin

Luke Fickell started his time at Wisconsin with a splash final week, touchdown his first set of commitments, which was adopted by a switch commit from former Oklahoma quarterback Nick Evers over the weekend.

Fickell, recognized for his recruiting means and improvement, entered a state of affairs of unrest, as gamers had appeared dedicated to interim head coach Jim Leonhard, however has showcased why he was employed with a collection of recruits to the Wisconsin 2023 class, whereas sustaining the commitments of a number of present Badger recruits.

The primary recruit that sparked the shockwave? Three-star defensive again Jonas Duclona, who had initially dedicated to Cincinnati whereas Fickell was their head coach, earlier than re-opening his recruitment.

Duclona spoke to Bucky’s fifth Quarter on his choice of selecting Wisconsin, in addition to his relationship with Fickell.

The Florida cornerback acknowledged that his relationships with the previous Cincinnati employees had been vital in his course of, main him to decide to Wisconsin.

“The connection I’ve constructed with the outdated Cincinnati employees, which is the brand new employees [at Wisconsin], is what led me to the decison of choosing Wisconsin,” Duclona mentioned. “Madison is a good place with a number of nice historical past, and lots of greats got here have via right here.”

Duclona now joins a cornerback room that returns high cornerback Alexander Smith, however loses starter Jay Shaw, key reserve Justin Clark, and former four-star Semar Melvin, who transferred to Michigan State.

Moreover, the three-star recruit intends to early enroll, telling Bucky’s fifth Quarter that he plans to reach on campus on January fifteenth, guaranteeing that he’ll be a participant in spring practices.

Whereas there was uncertainty given the change in faculties, Duclona appreciated Fickell and the recruiting employees’s message, which finally led to his choice.

“[Coach Fickell and the staff] simply need me to belief the imaginative and prescient they’ve for Wisconsin and count on me to contribute to that,” Duclona mentioned.

Duclona was adopted by four-star security Braedyn Moore in his recruitment to Wisconsin, resulting in a number of different commits over the previous week, bettering the Badgers’ recruiting class for 2023 after they had been severely depleted following the tip of the common season.

Within the 2023 class, Duclona joins fellow three-stars Jace Arnold, AJ Tisdell, and Justin Taylor because the incoming cornerbacks for Wisconsin, which ought to insulate their depth to make up for the losses on the place group.