Wisconsin football top-ranked class of 2026 defensive line target McHale Blade included the program in his list of finalists on Friday.<\/p>\n
Blade, who received his offer from UW on May 20, 2024, included the Badgers<\/a> in his top seven alongside Purdue, Illinois, Stanford, USC, Michigan and Notre Dame. 247Sports considers the 6-foot-4 defensive lineman the No. 112-ranked player, No. 21-ranked defensive lineman and No. 5 overall recruit from his home state of Illinois for the class of 2026.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n In addition to his list of finalists, the Simeon High School prospect has accumulated nearly 20 other offers from top programs throughout the country. Those include Georgia, Florida, Arizona State<\/a>, Miami, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas A&M.<\/p>\n Blade becomes the second class of 2026 defensive lineman to include Wisconsin in his batch of top choices on May 23, following three-star edge Kobe Cherry. Luke Fickell’s program’s focus remains on defensive line prospects for the class following top DL target\u00a0King Liggins’ commitment to Illinois<\/a>.<\/p>\n Other top 2026 defensive line targets, such as Djidjou Bah, Arthur Scott and Jermaine Polk, are also slated to officially visit Madison in May or June.<\/p>\n Wisconsin’s class of 2026 currently still holds the No. 43 ranking in the nation with seven athletes committed. With a pair of No. 25 finishes in 2024 and 2025 under his belt, Fickell is still working to extend his recruiting success into the 2026 cycle. A commitment from Blade would push that ranking up even further. On3’s prediction recruiting machine pegs Notre Dame as the finalist at 89.2%, however, signaling another potential loss for Wisconsin’s recruiting brass.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Blade’s choice is one to monitor for Badger fans as this summer progresses.<\/p>\n Contact\/Follow\u00a0@TheBadgersWire<\/a>\u00a0on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion<\/p>\n This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin Football recruiting McHale Blade final school list<\/a><\/p>\n