Aden Reeder fits what Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers’ defense is looking for in their growing crop of linebackers.

The 6-foot-3, 205 pound recruit announced his commitment to Wisconsin on Monday.

His junior Hudl film shows him working off the edge at outside linebacker for Cincinnati St. Xavier, but he also played off the ball and could accelerate downhill into the backfield. He finished with 72 tackles, 14½ tackles for loss and three sacks last season, according to MaxPreps.

Reeder is now projected to work within the inside linebacker group for defensive coordinator Mike Tressel. His frame and athleticism is similar to current Badgers backers Christian Alliegro (6-foot-4, 245 pounds), Thomas Heiberger (6-foot-4, 233 pounds), Landon Gauthier (6-fo3, 235) and incoming four-star freshman Mason Posa (listed at 6-foot-3 on Hudl).

Reeder is the first projected inside linebacker for this recruitng cycle to commit to the program, but the Badgers have also pursued a few others at his position.

Predicting just how many off-ball linebackers Wisconsin will take at this point is difficult, especially when weighing in how the staff evaluates the position group after the regular season and if there are any future transfer portal decisions at that time that could affect depth.

One 2026 target is Mason Marden, who just unveiled his top five last week and listed Wisconsin among his top schools. A decision is forthcoming in weeks’ time for Marden, and Badgers coaches visited both Marden and Reeder last week.

Linebacker TJ White, a four-star recruit from Mississippi, also tweeted in February that he would take an official visit to Wisconsin the weeknd of May 29-June 1. He announced official visits to Tennessee (June 13-15) and Mississippi State (June 20-22) as well, and he took one to North Carolina last month.

There’s also Ben Wenzel, the in-state standout from Appleton North who has not announced an offer from Wisconsin. He tweeted earlier this month that he’ll take an official visit the weekend of May 29-June 1.

Reeder had declared Power Four offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Wisconsin since January.

He previously set an official visit for June 5-8 at Wisconsin, but Minnesota and Iowa were also in line for official visits.

Wisconsin has competed with both conference foes on the recruiting trail often. The Gophers received an early commitment within the Badger State from Janesville Parker offensive lineman Gavin Meier, who Wisconsin pursued heavily at the start of this year.

Iowa also holds a Wisconsin native among its 2026 commits in Winneconne wide receiver Brody Schaffer. Schaffer had not announced an offer from Wisconsin, though he was expected to visit in the spring before his early commitment.

Other recruiting targets shared by the Badgers and Hawkeyes include defensive lineman King Liggins (Chicago Brother Rice) and safety Messiah Tilson (Rockford Guilford).

We’re still months away from the 2026 early signing period with a busy summer official visit period coming in a matter of weeks, but Wisconsin ranks 38th in the nation by 247Sports composite rankings as of May 12. That’s the highest by an outlet (On3 has Wisconsin as 42nd in the country and Rivals 43rd after Reeder’s commitment).

In terms of number of recruits who gave commitments up to May 12, Wisconsin now is sitting in line with the 2024 and 2025 classes. The 2024 class, Fickell’s first as Badgers coach, had seven verbal commitments as of May 12, 2023.

Wisconsin’s 2025 class had 10 commits at this time last year, though slot receiver Cam Miller announced May 15 his commitment to the program.

That said, three of those early 2025 commits – Miller, quarterback Landyn Locke and linebacker Brenden Anes – eventually did not sign with the program.

Wisconsin’s current 2026 commits are as follows:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – A native of Saint Croix Falls, Wis., Tyler Cooper has been on both sides of the Packers-Vikings border war.

“I can walk two minutes across the river and be in Minnesota,” Cooper, an undrafted free agent offensive lineman, said at Green Bay Packers rookie camp.

Cooper was born in Minnesota and was a Vikings fan when he was little.

“We had a pretty split family, so I started out that way,” Cooper said. “When we moved, I had to make the transition.”

So, after going undrafted out of the University of Minnesota, why did Cooper opt to sign with the Packers rather than a different opportunity?

“It’s a historic franchise. The trophy’s named after them,” he said. “It’s an unbelievable facility here, unbelievable coaches. Everybody here has just been amazing so far.”

At Saint Croix Falls High School, Cooper was an all-state performer and the No. 10 recruit in Wisconsin, according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings. His is a story of perseverance and stick-to-it-iveness. He played in one game in 2019, one game in 2020 and zero games in 2021.

Cooper played in five games in 2022, then started 21 games at left guard the last two seasons. He was honorable-mention all-Big Ten on the field in 2024 and was all-academic Big Ten from 2020 through 2024. He was selected for the East-West Shrine Bowl, with the game’s director of football operations, Eric Galko, saying Cooper could “play guard tomorrow” in the NFL.

Outside zone was his favorite play for the Gophers, though he enjoys winning with power, as well. The ability to win both ways got him to Green Bay.

“I think it’s every kid’s dream to play at this level,” Cooper said. “But I think when it really becomes like the dream that you think you can attain, maybe in college you start to really think like that, but it’s one thing at a time.”

Even after signing, the reality of being in the NFL felt surreal.

“Even after getting the news, there’s still like a bit of almost hesitation,” he said. “It doesn’t quite feel real. It doesn’t quite settle in until walking the halls like yesterday, going around, getting in meeting rooms, all that stuff. That’s when it really starts to sink in. Put on a little bit of the gear, get a ‘G’ on the chest, and that’s when it really starts to sink in there.”

For his career, he played 1,044 snaps at left guard and 265 snaps at right guard. The interior spots, including center, will be his home in the NFL. Now that he’s in the NFL, being able to play multiple positions will allow him to stay.

“I think versatility is the biggest thing,” Cooper said. “Being an O-lineman, you got to play as many spots as you can, especially coming in the way that I am as an undrafted. So, being able to play as many spots as you can, getting the playbook down, getting to know all the coaching staff and the guys around you and just hurt your tail off.”

Cooper spent the draft with close family, waiting for the moment of a lifetime. After a long wait, there were screams of joy and even a few tears.

“Last Saturday was awesome,” he said. “Hanging out with the family all day just sitting around waiting to find out what’s all going to happen. And then getting the calls and texts that this is going to be one of the places that we can go, it was a quick, quick decision to come here. I grew up watching them, been to Lambeau many times, family’s season-ticket holders. It was a dream come true to come play at a place like this.” 

The Wisconsin Badgers’ last two transfer portal quarterbacks haven’t been able to elevate the program, but Luke Fickell is hoping the latest edition of Billy Edwards Jr. can take Jeff Grimes’ offense to the next level.

National media analysts are a bit more skeptical.

247Sports ranked all 18 Big Ten quarterbacks after spring practices, and analyst Brad Crawford had Edwards outside of the Top 10.

13. Billy Edwards Jr., Wisconsin

The Badgers must get production out of the quarterback spot this fall or it could be another disappointing finish under Luke Fickell. After waiting his turn for two seasons at Maryland, Edwards finally got a starting opportunity last season and made the most of it for the Terps.

As a starter last season at Maryland, Edwards finished fourth in the Big Ten in passing yards and in the Top 10 in both completion percentage and touchdowns.

No one is arguing that he should be ahead of top QBs like Drew Allar, but it’s tough to have him ranked below quarterbacks who have yet to start a game in college like Ohio State redshirt freshman Julian Sayin.

He and Michigan true freshman Bryce Underwood are both in quarterback competitions right now and aren’t guaranteed to start Week 1, yet both are ranked well ahead of Edwards.

That might be more a reflection of the offenses around each quarterback, rather than their individual talent and ability.

It just means Edwards will have even more to prove this season as he tries to establish himself among the top QBs in the conference.