Steals and Studs Among the Class of 2026

July has been non-stop action in terms of offers and commitments for the Class of 2026. So many of the top athletes from the Class here in WI have made up their minds and announced verbal commitments to their future homes. It has been great to see the overwhelming efforts to recruit this Class, but it is very far from over. Even looking through the top of our 2026 rankings there are still plenty of studs available to be added to recruiting classes that will be difference makers down the road. We are going to talk about some of my favorites that fit that ideology of massive steals. Get on these kids while you still can.    A team is going to get a massive steal here, and with where we are at now it could be a National Champion that gets the steal. NDSU is the only offer currently extended to the Catholic Memorial mismatch in the defensive trenches. Hard to believe that when you watch through the tape. Neeko has a big, strong, filled-out frame and it is supported by an explosive lower body. A lower body that allows Neeko to fly off the ball and win with speed or turn that speed into power and he collapses the pocket from the interior. His active hands are able to create space his athleticism can capitalize so quickly with the extra room to make a play and defeat a block. The All-State DL with a 3.0 GPA is a need to watch athlete who is going to have a monster senior season.     This article is going to lean OL/DL heavy because the two positions are so deep. Because of the depth we will naturally see some kids slip under the radar at times. One of the members of the OL that shouldn't be slept on is Kimberly's [player_tooltip player_id='1524694' first='Yusif' last='Fofanah']. The 6'4" 315 lbs athlete is built for the power run game. He is at his best when he can get hands on quickly and crush his opponent. Yusif's lower body is unbelievably strong. This offseason he set the squat record at Kimberly with a 600 lbs effort. Knowing he is going to come back even stronger than what his 2024 tape demonstrated is a scary thought for opposing DL. Yusif will have no problem opening up holes or resetting the line of scrimmage. The spotlight might be starting to shine on him too. He just received his first D1 scholarship from Northern Iowa. We should see the list grow.     We flip to the offensive side of the trenches for our next massive steal. This one is Janesville Craig OL [player_tooltip player_id='1610084' first='Nolan' last='Duffy']. The 6'5" 295 lbs incoming senior holds an offer from Duluth, so far. It will be interesting to see if we see a huge wave of offers come in after we get that early season tape from Nolan. I have a strong feeling it will happen because Nolan has so many traits you can't teach. His massive frame is highlighted by an 80" wingspan. The big fella can easily pull and destroy edge defenders with his power and quickness to close on the block. You can't question the power in the run game either as he flies out of his stance and quickly gets DL off balance. Once that happens it is light work for the big fella. Nolan has had a great summer earning standout honors at the PRZ WI Showcase in the spring and OL MVP at one of the Wisconsin Badgers camps. Big things are ahead for Nolan. I personally can not wait to see who joins this recruitment.     I'm about to begin the 2026 Rankings update and believe that Nick has a strong shot at moving into the Top 100 overall and Top 10 at the QB position. So I'm surprised to see he doesn't have an offer at this point in the summer. Hard to believe that schools don't want a 6'5" 230 lbs athlete with a big arm that can drive the ball to any spot on the field. An athlete who is a 63% passer back in 2024 while aggressively attacking every level of the field. On top of the impressive size and traits, Nick has only been playing football since he was a freshman, so he is only entering year 4 of his entire football career this fall. We have seen a few QBs commit this summer, so the big gunslinger out of New Richmond is right up there for best available at the position. That tells me things should start to heat up for him from teams still looking to add to that position for 2026.     Another monster in the trenches that is going to be a steal for the next level is [player_tooltip player_id='1357697' first='Jacob' last='Paradowski'] The 6'3" 290 lbs athlete is loaded up with bulldozing power in the run game. When this kid is able to fire out of his stance, get hands on, and run his feet through his man there aren't many DL who can hold their ground against him. Jacob creates so much force when he makes contact, and the big fella can deliver that power after pulling and leading through to level two as well. Despite his massive frame, Jacob is nimble on his feet. That allows him to be so effective hitting blocks while in space and after pulling and leading up to level two. Jacob has punishing power and when that fresh tape hits in about a month I won't be surprised to see a swarm of college programs offering him. He currently has offers from Upper Iowa, Oshkosh, and River Falls.     One of my favorite receiving weapons in this Class is Indian Trail's [player_tooltip player_id='1220668' first='Luke' last='Peltier']. Luke does a great job of using that 6'4" and now 205 lbs frame to create space, box out, and protect the ball while securing the catch. Luke also does a great job of playing above the rim, especially in the redzone. Indian Trail was able to scrimmage a couple teams recently and Luke put out some great clips of high-pointing the ball and showing off strong hands in traffic to secure the catch and win the 50/50 battle. Luke holds offers from Oshkosh and Eau Claire. I'm excited to see his senior season because he returns his QB and has plenty of varsity experience already. So I expect Luke to take over games when he gets the chance.

July has been non-stop action in terms of offers and commitments for the Class of 2026. So many of the top athletes from the Class here in WI have made up their minds and announced verbal commitments to their future homes. It has been great to see the overwhelming efforts to recruit this Class, but it is very far from over. Even looking through the top of our 2026 rankings there are still plenty of studs available to be added to recruiting classes that will be difference makers down the road. We are going to talk about some of my favorites that fit that ideology of massive steals. Get on these kids while you still can.