MADISON – Luke Fickell’s coaching staff will be a work in progress for the next few weeks.
One area that the University of Wisconsin’s new football coach plans to hit the ground running is recruiting.
Fickell was set to return to Cincinnati on Monday night and when he gets back to town Tuesday is expected to bring a couple of key pieces of his old staff: recruiting assistants Max Stienecker and Pat Lambert.
Fickell took over the Badgers program 24 days before the early signing period. That period goes from Dec. 21-23. UW also will be able to sign players after the start of the regular signing period, but the top prospects for 2023 are usually off the table at that point.
Wisconsin has nine players, including Milwaukee King running back Nate White, who have remained orally committed to the program.
“Those guys are our No. 1 priority,” Fickell said during his introductory news conference inside Camp Randall Stadium. “Those guys are the ones whose lives are in a little bit of disarray as well. The great thing about the University of Wisconsin is those guys might have been attracted here because maybe a relationship with a guy, but they’re going to be here because of what Wisconsin is, because of the athletic program, because of the history.”
More: Luke Fickell has experienced championship-level college football and wants Wisconsin to as well
During his 35-minute interview session Fickell touched on the territory he hopes to make his recruiting base, his approach to the transfer portal and well as recruiting to a university high academic standards.
Let’s knock them out one by one.
Wisconsin’s recruiting base
At Cincinnati and during his time at Ohio State, Fickell could draw from Ohio’s deep pool of talent. Monday he explained that while he expects to maintain those connections the core of his recruiting will be within a 300-mile radius of campus.
That means Fickell and his staff could touch places like Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, St. Louis and the Twin Cities, areas where UW has traditionally found a lot of players. Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit are areas Fickell and his staff recruited while at Cincinnati.
“Within a 300-mile radius that will be the core of what it is we do. I have a good grasp on that,” he said. “Obviously I have to learn a lot more about the 50-mile, the 60-mile radius, but I know that as you get into the Chicago area, where (Wisconsin has) done an unbelievable job, there are a lot of roots that have built there.”
The transfer portal
While Cincinnati was able to land some key transfers that helped the program during Fickell’s tenure, the coach stressed that he prefers to build his teams through high school recruiting.
He said his use of the portal has been to fill gaps
“We have literally had a matrix that said they’ve got to hit these points and these situations and these things because the last thing I want to do is bring a guy into our program, here in particular, that is going to mess with the culture that is going to mess with the environment that is going to mess with the relationships,” he said.
High academic standards
A familiar refrain from UW coaches, regardless of the sport, is that the school’s high academic standards can make recruiting a challenge. Fickell has the unique of experience of having recruited to Ohio State, another Big Ten program that routinely had highly ranked recruiting classes.
When asked about the similarities or differences between the standards at the institutions Fickell said:
“We know this is an incredible academic institution. We’ve got to make sure that we bring guys who can fit that standard. That doesn’t mean you have to take a guy who not quite as big not quite as fast. We all have to put them in a position where they can thrive and be successful.
“I’m excited to meet the people who are going to work with them because we know there are guys you have to take who have challenges. As long as you have the support to help them and they’ve got the heart and drive to do it all things can be done.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New Wisconsin football coach Luke Fickell talks recruiting, transfers