tjgesquire
Team Ginger
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From CFN's recruiting article:
10. Q: How come there hasn't been much of a buzz about recruiting at Wisconsin under Bret Bielema? What's the biggest area of need for UW to hit this recruiting season?
A: From Benjamin Worgull, Publisher of BadgerNation.com
Much Buzz?
One of the reasons that there hasn't been much buzz about Bielema's recruiting is the inability for the Badgers to grab big-time talent from out of state. Unofficially this season, the Badgers offered scholarships to 10 players that participated in high school all-star games and all of them chose not to attend Wisconsin.
In four recruiting classes under Bielema, the Badgers have inked 85 kids. Of those 85 kids, they've inked only seven recruits that have been rated either four or five stars by Scout Media and all five have been from the state of Wisconsin. Only Racine Park's John Clay has been an impact player.
Another reason is the players the Wisconsin coaching staff have recruited aren't highly ranked to begin with. Of the 20 verbal commits, eight only have a two star ranking, including three of the last four. The Badgers have only signed four players in the last four months and only Pat Muldoon was highly sought after on a national scale. Of course, if East St. Louis wide receiver Kraig Appleton picks UW over Illinois, UW's ‘09 class would end with a bang.
The last, but certainly not least, reason why this class hasn't received much buzz is because of the status of the head coach. In his first season replacing Barry Alvarez, who many consider one of the best unsung recruiters of his time, Bielema recorded a program-record 12 wins and won the Capital One Bowl over Arkansas with a team comprised mostly of Alvarez's players.
Since then, Wisconsin is 16-10 and 0-2 in bowl games, including a 29-point crushing to Florida State, the Badgers worst bowl loss since 1960. With fans calling for Bielema to be fired and with a recruiting class devoid of the big names and impact players that went other directions, there isn't much positive buzz heading into the 2009 season.
10. Q: How come there hasn't been much of a buzz about recruiting at Wisconsin under Bret Bielema? What's the biggest area of need for UW to hit this recruiting season?
A: From Benjamin Worgull, Publisher of BadgerNation.com
Much Buzz?
One of the reasons that there hasn't been much buzz about Bielema's recruiting is the inability for the Badgers to grab big-time talent from out of state. Unofficially this season, the Badgers offered scholarships to 10 players that participated in high school all-star games and all of them chose not to attend Wisconsin.
In four recruiting classes under Bielema, the Badgers have inked 85 kids. Of those 85 kids, they've inked only seven recruits that have been rated either four or five stars by Scout Media and all five have been from the state of Wisconsin. Only Racine Park's John Clay has been an impact player.
Another reason is the players the Wisconsin coaching staff have recruited aren't highly ranked to begin with. Of the 20 verbal commits, eight only have a two star ranking, including three of the last four. The Badgers have only signed four players in the last four months and only Pat Muldoon was highly sought after on a national scale. Of course, if East St. Louis wide receiver Kraig Appleton picks UW over Illinois, UW's ‘09 class would end with a bang.
The last, but certainly not least, reason why this class hasn't received much buzz is because of the status of the head coach. In his first season replacing Barry Alvarez, who many consider one of the best unsung recruiters of his time, Bielema recorded a program-record 12 wins and won the Capital One Bowl over Arkansas with a team comprised mostly of Alvarez's players.
Since then, Wisconsin is 16-10 and 0-2 in bowl games, including a 29-point crushing to Florida State, the Badgers worst bowl loss since 1960. With fans calling for Bielema to be fired and with a recruiting class devoid of the big names and impact players that went other directions, there isn't much positive buzz heading into the 2009 season.
