Drayden Pavey, Kyler Garcia visiting

Wisconsin has welcomed at least 28 recruits on official visits over the last two weekends — including nine players who had already committed — but the staff continues to build momentum on the recruiting trail. There have been six players from that 28 who have announced their verbal commitments since June 1, and that could extend to seven or eight later this week if four-star linebacker Mason Posa and wide receiver Eugene Hilton Jr. declare their intentions to play for the Badgers.

Several recruits who had previously announced plans to take official visits to Wisconsin this upcoming weekend are no longer anticipated to be in town for a number of reasons. Here’s what to know about who is expected on campus.

Wisconsin found a key piece to its 2025 class in Middleton defensive lineman Torin Pettaway, who flipped back to the Badgers from Minnesota earlier this week. That alleviates some pressure for the staff at this position, though there’s still room to bring on more.

The Badgers hosted Kade Pietrzak (West Fargo Sheyenne, North Dakota) from May 31-June 2 and Wilnerson Telemaque (Miami Monsignor Pace) last weekend. Pietrzak visited Oklahoma this past weekend, and Telemaque will announce his commitment to West Virginia, Wisconsin or Georgia Tech next Tuesday.

Three-star recruits Kyler Garcia (Nashville Pearl-Cohn) and Drayden Pavey (Cincinnati Taft) both tweeted earlier this week that they will take official visits to Madison starting Friday.

Wisconsin came in with a late offer for Garcia, as he announced it May 22. Other Power Four offers he’s announced include Georgia, Indiana, Louisville, Purdue and Vanderbilt. 

Garcia, who is 6 foot 5 and 266 pounds according to Hudl, has taken official visits to Louisville and Purdue already. He also had scheduled one to Indiana the weekend of June 21-23, according to a previous tweet.

Pavey, who’s listed at 6-3 and 300 pounds on Hudl, watched Wisconsin’s April 20 practice and announced an offer a day later. He quickly placed the Badgers among his top three programs, which includes Big Ten rivals Indiana and Purdue. He previously tweeted an official visit schedule of Purdue, Wisconsin, NC State and Indiana but later announced the cancellation of his trip to the Wolfpack. 

Wisconsin found its 2025 quarterback early when Landyn Locke (Rockwall, Texas) became the class’ first verbal commitment in June 2023. The younger brother of current Badgers quarterback Braedyn Locke will be back on campus this weekend.

Locke, a consensus three-star recruit who’s listed at 6-4 and 185 pounds on Hudl, was named District 10-6A co-offensive MVP for the 2023 season. He completed 60.6% of his throws for 1,702 yards and 19 touchdowns to only four interceptions as a junior, according to MaxPreps.

Joining him will be Luke Emmerich, who visited Wisconsin and watched the Badgers’ April 13 spring practice. He announced an offer from the Badgers on April 24 and commitment May 3. He is yet another recruit who’s flashed on the track, as according to athletic.net, he ran a 10.69 in the 100-meter dash on April 23.

“I knew that that was what I needed to do to really show that I was back,” said Emmerich, who missed his junior season due to a knee injury. “And actually like five minutes after that, I got a call from Iowa State and they pulled the trigger right after that time. 

“Then I think it was the next day when (Wisconsin) coach (Mike) Tressel called me and said I had my spot. Right from then, I knew I was going to be a Badger.”

Emmerich also tweeted other Power Four offers from Boston College, California, Utah, Kansas State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Southern Cal and Utah. Wisconsin delegates him with an “athlete” designation, which means his projected position with the program is yet to be solidified.

Milwaukee Marquette kicker/punter Erik Schmidt first announced an offer from Wisconsin in May 2023, which he later confirmed was a walk-on opportunity. He told BadgerExtra that he also has received other preferred walk-on opportunities from defending national champion Michigan, Missouri and Notre Dame. Another Power Four contender entered the fray recently when Schmidt tweeted June 4 that he received a scholarship offer from Boston College.

Schmidt has visited Wisconsin multiple times throughout his recruiting process, which included attending the program’s April 18 spring practice.

“It was great,” Schmidt said days later. “It’s always good coming back and I was able to meet the new special teams analyst (Eric Raisbeck) there. Nice guy, so it was great meeting him, and I had a great time there.”

It will be a busy weekend for Schmidt, who will participate in Wisconsin’s specialist camp Friday and stay for an official visit over the weekend. Rivals sees Schmidt as a three-star recruit, but Kohl’s Kicking evaluates him as a five-star kicker and punter, as well as the No. 1 punter and No. 8 kicker in the 2025 class.