Wisconsin football 2026 wide receiver commit shuts down recruitment
Wisconsin football 2026 wide receiver commit shuts down recruitment
Wisconsin football class of 2026 wide receiver commit Tayshon Bardo left no doubt about where he stands in his recruitment process on Tuesday.
Bardo, who committed to Wisconsin on March 11, announced his recruitment would be "1000% shut down" in a recent post on X. The decision arrived shortly after his official visit to Madison this past weekend. Before his statement, the Indiana native also had official visits scheduled to Cincinnati, USF, Michigan State and Vanderbilt.
The pass-catcher's declaration comes at a busy juncture of Wisconsin's recruiting period to begin the summer. Defensive line target Jermaine Polk canceled his official visit to Wisconsin and edge rusher Carmelow Reed flipped his commitment from UW to Ole Miss on Monday, altering the program's depth in its class of 2026.
The Badgers did pick up recent commitments from three-star tight end Jack Sievers, three-star defensive lineman Arthur Scott, three-star linebacker Ben Wenzel and three-star defensive lineman Djidjou Bah during the June 1 official visit window, morphing a recruiting class once stuck in the mid-40s to No. 34 nationally.
247Sports ranks the 6-foot-1 wide receiver as the No. 708 overall player in the class of 2026, the No. 103 wide receiver and the No. 6 recruit from his home state of Indiana. As of June 4, he is the only wide receiver to pledge his commitment to Wisconsin's class of 2026. The Badgers are now zeroing in on top targets LB McHale Blade, WR Jayden Petit, RB Amari Latimer, OT Kamari Blair and athlete Jackson Ford after each visited campus over the weekend.
Bardo's enthusiasm and loyalty to the Badgers are certainly encouraging, considering the fluidity of recruiting in the transfer portal and NIL era. On top of that, UW received just one wide receiver commitment in its class of 2025 -- four-star Eugene Hilton Jr.
Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes will turn to Jayden Ballard, Trech Kekahuna and Vinny Anthony II to captain the wide receiver position this coming season. That unit will begin its journey for the Badgers against the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks at Camp Randall Stadium in Week 1.
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