Recruiting is the lifeblood of any major college athletics team, but following it closely as a fan can sometimes be difficult and can often be time consuming. We’ll try and condense all the recruiting news you can use into this bi-weekly post. It’ll include updates on current commits, including stats from their high school games, as well as news on players the Badgers are still pursuing. Let’s get down to business!

New offers

2021 4-star TE Thomas Fidone (Council Bluffs, Iowa) received an offer from the Badgers on Tuesday. According to 247, he also holds offers from Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Indiana, LSU, Kansas State, Iowa State, Minnesota, Missouri, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Purdue, West Virginia and Tennessee. Phew, I am out of breath.

Blessed and excited to say I have received a full scholarship from the University of Wisconsin! pic.twitter.com/ivCR4Urbtb — Thomas Fidone II (@ThomasFidone) January 21, 2020

The Hawkeyes and the Huskers seem to be in the lead for Fidone’s services, and with Iowa’s success getting tight ends to the NFL and, uh, being from Council Bluffs it’s easy to see why. Don’t count out the Huskers, however, who have already hosted Fidone for their Junior Day (among three other times he’s visited Lincoln).

The 6-foot-5, 215 pound TE is ranked as the No. 10 TE and No. 275 player in the whole country by the 247 Composite. In his junior highlight tape, Fidone shows really nice speed for someone his size. He’s able to run after the catch and beat people to the end zone. He also has a good catch radius and looks to be learning how to use his body to shield defenders from contested passes.

After taking a visit to Madison for the Purdue game this past season, 2021 LB Jake Chaney (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) was offered by the Badgers on Tuesday. According to Rivals, Chaney also has an offer from Iowa State and is receiving interest from FIU, UAB, Princeton and Georgia Tech. Chaney’s Twitter account also notes a recent offer from Cincinnati.

Extremely blessed to say I have received an offer from the University of Wisconsin-Madison‼️ @coachchaney96 @247recruiting pic.twitter.com/9CitYUASFe — Jake Chaney (@JakeChaney9) January 22, 2020

The 6-foot, 210 pound LB is unranked by both services but after having a huge junior season (100 tackles, 10 TFL, two sacks, one fumble recovery) and being located in Florida that should change over the summer.

Size-wise, he’ll remind you of Chris Orr and much like Orr, Chaney seems to have a nose for the ball carrier and the ability to rush through holes in the offensive line quickly. He helped lead his team to their first district title since 2005 and was subsequently named to the all-district team.

Hey Jake Chaney congrats on being named to the Fort Myers News-Press 1st Team All Area Defensive Team as well as a finalist for the Defensive Player of the Year! #BoltUp #LehighLightningFootball @Lehighrecruits @LehighAthletics pic.twitter.com/KsTxce1ljP — Coach Chaney (@coachchaney96) December 29, 2019

Other recruiting notes

It’s always nice to hear that the Badgers coaches are recruiting around the state. The talent level in Wisconsin has gone up and having preexisting relationships with these in-state schools and coaches will be important for Paul Chryst once other schools start making Wisconsin a priority.

Thank you to the University of Wisconsin for stopping by Eau Claire Memorial this morning! Coach Chryst and Coach Haering are always welcome here! #oldabesfootball #nextlevel — Coach Sinz (@MikeSinz) January 22, 2020

2020 4-star RB verbal commit Jalen Berger enjoyed his time at the Polynesian Bowl.

Thank you @polynesiabowl for a amazing week one that I will never forget pic.twitter.com/TK3WOGhVL8 — Jalen Berger (@JalenBerger) January 21, 2020

While that is nice, and I appreciate Berger being polite to his Polynesian Bowl hosts, the more important news gleaned from his Twitter account is the fact that Wisconsin RB coach John Settle was out to visit him.

There are still rumblings about Rutgers trying to get an in with Berger now that Greg Schiano is the coach, so it’s good to see the Badgers keeping the full-court press on him before National Signing Day in a few weeks.

An interesting development for the 2020 class is the potential to add a QB to the ranks. There are reports that the Badgers are trying to flip unranked Daniel Wright (Sergeant Bluff, Iowa) from Division II Sioux Falls. The 6-foot-8 and 225 pound high school senior is being offered as a preferred walk-on.

Wright has impressive size and threw for 7,030 yards and 78 touchdowns in his career according to his senior year Hudl tape. His ability to see over, well, everyone on the field seems to help him with accuracy on short to intermediate throws. There are also a couple of nicely placed deep balls in the film.

Wright told Rivals that he’ll be visiting Madison on Feb. 1st and then make his final decision before National Signing Day. Wright’s brother plays at Sioux Falls, and despite a PWO offer from Iowa State, he notes that the Badgers and Sioux Falls are the only two schools he’s considering.