MADISON, Wis. — Tristan Phillips is one of the top linebackers in the 2026 recruiting class, a four-star prospect from Ventura, Calif., whose scholarship offer list has ballooned to 18 schools and extends across every Power 4 conference, as well as Notre Dame. As a result of such heavy interest, Phillips and his family will spend considerable time logging air miles from LAX to the college destination of his choice for game-day visits.
So far this season, he has taken trips to Arizona State, UCLA, Oregon and, most recently, Wisconsin. Over the next five Saturdays, he will watch games at Washington, Utah, Cal, Oklahoma and Arizona. And when there are that many options, a game-day experience had better elevate a school. Otherwise, why bother?
“It gives you a feel for how they operate on game days, the atmosphere, what you’re going to be around,” Phillips said. “Just having one day to do that and get to check everything out and see it in person and experience it definitely goes a long way.”
Four-star linebacker Tristan Phillips checked out Wisconsin’s game-day vibe during the loss to Penn State last week. (Courtesy of Tristan Phillips).
Wisconsin lost to No. 3 Penn State 28-13 on Saturday night at Camp Randall Stadium, an agonizing defeat that extended the Badgers’ winless streak against ranked opponents to the three-year mark. On the surface, that might seem like enough to disqualify Wisconsin from consideration among recruits.
But listen to those who attended the game, including Phillips, and it’s possible that Wisconsin still won as a program in the long term. That’s because the 28 high school recruits who came to campus, which included seven uncommitted four-star prospects like Phillips, witnessed a charged prime-time environment in front of an announced crowd of 76,403 that gave them plenty to think about as they inch closer toward commitments.
“I’d say it’s definitely the most electric stadium I’ve been to,” said quarterback Teddy Jarrard, a 2027 prospect with a Wisconsin offer who attended the game.
“The atmosphere was amazing,” added Phillips, who was making his first visit to Wisconsin. “It was a packed house. Obviously, they’re the No. 1 college town in America. But I definitely felt it when I was out there. That’s what was different was the vibes that came off and how passionate people were about Wisconsin.”
Wisconsin has taken steps forward with its recruiting efforts under Luke Fickell and his staff. His first full recruiting class in 2024 ranked No. 23 in the 247Sports Composite — the second-best for the program in the online recruiting ranking era — and featured a program-record 11 four-star prospects. Wisconsin’s 2025 class, following the Monday commitment of in-state tight end Emmett Bork and the decommitment of defensive lineman Wilnerson Telemaque, has 23 scholarship commits and ranks No. 26 nationally with six four-star players.
In order to keep that momentum rolling, nights like last Saturday matter for Wisconsin. The decision by TV schedulers to kick the game off at 6:30 p.m. CT on NBC provided Wisconsin with an opportunity to invite prospects from across the country who wouldn’t otherwise have been able to see Camp Randall Stadium in person given their own Friday night football games.
Wisconsin played one other night game at home earlier this season, but it was a Friday night opener against Western Michigan that coincided with high school football. Wisconsin’s previous biggest home game this season, against Alabama on Sept. 21, kicked off at 11 a.m., which made it difficult for the Badgers to extend their recruiting reach.
However, because of the late kick Saturday, Wisconsin was able to bring in three recruits from Georgia (Jarrard, four-star running back Amari Latimer and offensive lineman Bear McWhorter), two California prospects (Phillips and 2026 quarterback Ryan Hopkins), four-star Washington tight end Jack Sievers, four-star Pennsylvania safety Matt Sieg, Las Vegas tight end Zac Fares and several others. Fickell, an Ohio native with deep ties to the state, had five uncommitted Ohio prospects on campus, including four-star cornerbacks Victor Singleton and Jakob Weatherspoon. Four-star 2027 tight end Holden Niemi (Dexter, Mich.), the No. 3 player at his position, also attended.
“You only get seven of these opportunities to be at your home,” Fickell said earlier this season. “There’s nothing better here. … The No. 1 thing you can do a great job with is playing really well and creating an environment in that stadium that they want to be a part of.”
Wisconsin led Penn State 10-7 at halftime and entered the fourth quarter trailing just 14-13. That was enough to keep fans engaged and lead to a spirited rendition of “Jump Around,” in which Camp Randall Stadium shook more than it had for any of the four previous home games this season.
“Jump Around was great,” said Weatherspoon, who also has visited Ohio State and Penn State. “Definitely I wanted to be up top in the nosebleeds so it would shake a little bit. But that’s all right. I love it. It was really nice.”
“That was something different,” Phillips said. “I heard all about it. I saw a couple clips on it. But just getting to see it in person and be a part of it, it was special. That place was rocking when it came on.”
Wisconsin’s staffers squeezed as much time in as they could with recruits due to the later kickoff. Phillips and his family drove to LAX immediately after his Friday night game to catch a redeye flight to Chicago, followed by a flight to Madison that landed at 10 a.m. Saturday. They took a bus to the football facilities and were greeted by assistant director of player personnel Brandon Rose and director of player personnel Max Stienecker.
Breakfast was provided, followed by a meeting with outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell. A bus drove recruits around campus and allowed them to see some of the city. Phillips returned to the football facility to talk briefly with defensive coordinator Mike Tressel and shake Fickell’s hand. Recruits then went onto the field to watch pregame warmups before taking their seats in the first couple of rows behind the Wisconsin bench along the 20-yard line. Pizza was provided after the game. Phillips, who said he intends to use an official visit on Wisconsin, then took a bus back to the airport with his family.
Jarrard, one of the top quarterbacks on Wisconsin’s 2027 board, originally was supposed to attend Wisconsin’s Nov. 16 game against Oregon but learned it would coincide with a playoff game for his team. He was only able to make the trip for the Penn State game when he learned it would be played at night.
Jarrard completed 22 of 24 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns to lead North Cobb to a 47-21 victory against Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe on Friday night. By the time he made the two-hour drive home from the road game, it was 1 a.m. He went to sleep at 2 and woke up at 4 to head to the Atlanta airport for a 7 a.m. flight to Chicago. Jarrard, as well as his parents and two younger brothers, drove to Madison and arrived late-morning, following a similar schedule to Phillips. Jarrard also met with offensive coordinator Phil Longo on Sunday from 10:50-11:30 a.m. before returning to the airport for a flight home.
Jarrard has been on game-day visits this season to Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Georgia and Wisconsin. He is scheduled to visit Auburn this weekend for its game against Vanderbilt and stressed the importance of the game-day visit in his decision-making process.
“It definitely sets a standard because you’re seeing what you’re going to be playing in, the atmosphere,” Jarrard said. “Most kids don’t want to play for a school that their fans don’t show out and fans don’t appreciate the school. It is a big deal, and I think Wisconsin really showed out.”
Wisconsin didn’t win Saturday. But the Badgers have to hope they did enough to generate the kind of atmosphere that will make recruits want to come back for more.
“They went out there and showed that they can play with the No. 3 team in the country,” Phillips said. “Penn State’s been building something strong for about 10 years. Obviously, Wisconsin has a pretty new staff in there. So they’re building up a very good football team.
“Their defense was playing very hard. Considering how much the defense was on the field that night, they were making plays, getting stops, staying in the game. Very disciplined, very physical. They lost a good game, so it’s not changed my perspective on Wisconsin at all.”
(Top photo: Jeff Hanisch / Imagn Images)
