Defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow goes through spring practice at the McClain Center in Madison, Wisconsin on Tuesday April 2, 2024. Mark Stewart / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

2026 defensive line recruit announces he won’t visit Wisconsin Badgers, days after school adds 2 commits

Originally posted on Wisconsin Badgers on SI
By Jake Kocorowski | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 4:15 PM ET

One 2026 defensive line recruit won't be making a trip back to Madison after all.

Jermaine Polk, who plays for Toledo St. Francis de Sales in Ohio, announced Monday that he will not be taking his official visit to the Wisconsin Badgers for the weekend of June 5-8.

The three-star recruit told Wisconsin Badgers On SI in May that he had been in contact with the Badgers since February. He tweeted an offer from Wisconsin in April and attended a spring practice that month.

"The relationship with Wisconsin is great," Polk said last month. "Coach (E.J.) Whitlow was actually at the school (Monday), checking up on me coming from Indiana. But it's something special there. It's a lot of energy, is great tradition."

"Something I really like about it is the campus. The campus is really nice. And it's just a bit of everything once you go there and see what it's like. So it's awesome."

I will not be taking an official visit to @BadgerFootball @AllenTrieu @WisFBRecruiting @InsideWisconsin
— Jermaine Polk 3⭐️DT† (@JermainePolk26) June 2, 2025

Polk took an official visit to Boston College this past weekend. He also announced trips to Iowa State (June 13-15) and Iowa (June 20-22).

Wisconsin Badgers On SI reached out Monday afternoon to Polk asking for a reason why he will no longer visit the program this weekend, and he has not responded as of time of publishing.

The Badgers received good news for its defensive line Saturday, however, with the commitments of three-star defensive linemen Djidjou Bah (Germantown, Tennessee) and Arthur Scott (Streetsboro, Ohio).

Coach Luke Fickell and the Badgers now have seen 10 recruits disclose their commitments for the 2026 class as of the afternoon of June 2.