The NCAA is penalizing Wisconsin football for recruiting infractions that occurred during the spring of 2023. BadgerExtra’s Colten Bartholomew was the first to report the news.
Bartholomew writes that “nine members of Luke Fickell’s staff violated a since-changed NCAA rule by making phone calls to recruits before the recruiting calendar allowed them to be made.” Notably, that rule changed in August 2023, just months after the reported violations. Among those specifically penalized are Fickell, outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell, former defensive line coach Greg Scruggs and former recruiting lead Max Stienecker.
The infraction is a Level II violation. Both Scruggs and Stienecker received one-year show-cause orders, while Fickell and Mitchell will not be permitted to contact high school recruits from June 15-21. For more specifics on the violations and their fallout, here is Bartholomew’s full report.
Notably, neither of the two staffers who received show causes still works for Wisconsin. Scruggs left the program after the 2023 campaign for the same title at Big Ten rival Michigan, though he resigned just months into the job after an OWI arrest. He is now an assistant defensive line coach with the San Francisco 49ers. Stienecker left Wisconsin in February to become USC‘s general manager. He and his recruiting staff have the Trojans atop the class of 2026 national rankings with 28 total commits, including 18 blue-chip players and one five-star.
Wisconsin finished the 2024 recruiting cycle, the one that included the reported infractions, with arguably the best class in program history. Among the program’s 22 signees, 11 were blue-chip players. Four-star recruits offensive tackle Kevin Heywood, defensive lineman Ernest Willor Jr., running back Dilin Jones and defensive lineman Dillan Johnson headline a group that finished ranked No. 25 nationally and No. 7 in the Big Ten Conference.
The 2025 season should see a significant portion of that class enter the team’s two-deep depth chart. Running backs Dilin Jones and Darrion Dupree, offensive lineman Emerson Mandell, wide receiver Kyan Berry-Johnson, defensive lineman Dillan Johnson and linebacker Thomas Heiberger should all see the field. Heywood was also in line to start for the team at left tackle, though he is projected to miss the season after an ACL injury. Furthermore, cornerback Xavier Lucas already excelled as a true freshman in 2024, though he transferred to Miami in the offseason.
The Badgers‘ class of 2026, which does not yet contain a blue-chip player, ranks No. 40 nationally.
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