Badgers Miss Out on Strong In-State 2027 DL Following Notre Dame Commitment

While Wisconsin and other programs have been interested in Flanigan, the recruit announced last night that he will commit to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Flanigan received an offer from Notre Dame back in March and has kept a close line of contact with the program since.

Flanigan now extends the Notre Dame Academy to Notre Dame Fighting Irish pipeline following four-star 2025 tight end James Flanigan, his brother. The defensive lineman comes from a football family with his father and grandfather both spending time in the NFL. Flanigan was born to play football and following his recent visit with Notre Dame, the recruit decided to make the program his future collegiate home.

Wisconsin Badgers Miss on Richie Flanigan, Shift In-State Focus to Korz Loken

With Flanigan now locking the Badgers out, Wisconsin has pivoted the in-state focus to the remaining big three of four-star tight end Korz Loken, four-star tackle Cole Reiter, and three-star edge rusher Isaac Miller. Reiter and Miller have both been trending towards becoming closer with the Badgers, with Reiter already holding a crystal ball to stay in Wisconsin.

However, Loken is the recruit who still likely has big offers coming and could also be the hardest in-state player to keep close to home. The talented tight end will be attending one of the biggest recruiting weekends this season during the Penn State white-out game against Oregon. The Nittany Lions have been heavily pursuing the tight end, and could impress Loken with a good performance on the field.

The tight end has said multiple times throughout his recruitment that an early commitment is likely the route that he would prefer to go. A decision should be made before the end of the winter, and could even be made at the end of his football season depending on how many of his visits go. Another key factor in the recruitment of Loken has been tight end usage on the field as the recruit is a willing blocker, but wants to be able to fully showcase his skills on the field.

Loken currently holds offers from programs such as Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, Kentucky, and Notre Dame. Loken is the 132nd overall recruit in the class, ninth tight end, and top recruit in the state of Wisconsin.