Take Two: How did Wisconsin get all this recruiting momentum?

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local or regional expert from the Rivals.com network.

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Wisconsin is off to a hot start and the Badgers could be looking at their best recruiting class ever in the Rivals.com era, dating back to 2002.

Coach Paul Chryst and his staff have already landed commitments from the top player in the state of Michigan, four-star offensive tackle Logan Brown; the best player in Pennsylvania, four-star tight end Hayden Rucci; and the second-best prospect in Kansas, four-star quarterback Graham Mertz.

Wisconsin’s recruiting class is ranked fourth in the Big Ten and No. 18 nationally. If the Badgers stick to that number in the conference rankings, it would be their best finish ever, as they’ve finished fifth three times previously since 2002. Wisconsin has never even finished in the top 30 nationally in the Rivals.com era.

The Badgers are off to a phenomenal start with their 2019 class, but it won’t be easy to keep the class intact. Mertz is being pursued by other top programs. Brown is from Michigan, so if the Wolverines or Michigan State have fantastic seasons that could be a draw. Rucci is being pursued by others. And Wisconsin has already lost some key contributors in this class.

Even still, the Badgers have put together a phenomenal class. How has Wisconsin been able to do it?

“Despite Wisconsin's early success in the 2019 class, the philosophy on the recruiting front has stayed pretty consistent. The staff continues to make in-state prospects a priority while keeping a strong presence in familiar national recruiting territories (Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia and much of the East Coast).

"What the Badgers have been able to do extremely well in this class, though, is identify talent very early in the process. That starts with Logan Brown, UW's highest-rated commit in this cycle. The four-star offensive tackle camped at Wisconsin the summer after his freshman year, and the Badgers were the first school to really jump-start his recruitment. UW offered early and got the Michigan native on campus a handful of times before he was even on the radar of traditional powerhouse programs.

"Same story with four-star quarterback Graham Mertz, who, at the time of his commitment, only had a scholarship from Kansas, his in-state school. This offseason, Mertz emerged as one of the most heavily recruited prospects in the country, regardless of position.

“Wisconsin's recent success, specifically a 13-1 season in 2017, has also been huge. Recruits keep an eye on the College Football Playoff, and having the Badgers in that conversation right up until the final week definitely helped with their national exposure.

"UW finds itself in a position where they need to hang on to the early commitments the staff received this winter and spring. Two big-time pieces - Bryson Shaw and Nolan Groulx - have already decommitted, and Mertz has taken visits to Georgia and Ohio State. There's still a strong chance Wisconsin finishes with its highest-rated class of the Rivals era, but that won't be the case if other schools continue to pick apart the current commit list.”

“It’s the winning. It is one of the best starts we’ve seen from Wisconsin in a very, very long time, and if you look at some of the kids they’re getting, they have the offers. They have Michigan and Ohio State and Notre Dame and Michigan State. They have a lot of the regional offers that are hard to beat.

“Wisconsin has been such a consistent football program on the field that kids are starting to take notice. The Badgers are 45-10 over the last four seasons and went undefeated in the Big Ten last year until the championship game.

"Some of the 2019 success is the positional factor - you have a great offensive lineman that wants to go there, so that makes sense. If I had to pick one thing that’s telling me why Wisconsin is recruiting at a higher level now, it’s definitely the winning.”