Wisconsin Football: Joe Brunner will be the perfect Badger

Wisconsin football won a huge recruiting battle on Tuesday, landing the commitment of Joe Brunner, who will be the perfect Badger.

Over the years, the Wisconsin football program has been built on great offensive linemen, and on Tuesday, the Baders landed one of the best in the 2022 recruiting class.

Joe Brunner, a four-star recruit from the state of Wisconsin, has been a top priority for the Badgers throughout the entire 2022 class.

However, Wisconsin football still had to hold off the likes of Ohio State and Notre Dame, two other programs who were hot on the trail of the 6-foot-6 offensive tackle who ranks 55th overall in 2022 according to the 247 sports composite rankings, as well as seventh among offensive tackles.

Brunner who is from Whitefish Lake, Wisconsin, is also the top prospect from the state, which makes his addition even more important for head coach Paul Chryst and the Badgers. And from what Brunner told 247 sports, the history of great offensive line development was a key factor in his decision.

"“The second I stepped on campus, I kinda knew. I fell in love with it,” Brunner told Badger247. “If you’re an offensive lineman, you cannot go wrong in Madison…at all.”"

What it means for Wisconsin football’s 2022 class

Anytime you get one of the top targets on your board, regardless of position, you have to feel pretty good about it and Wisconsin did that in getting Brunner’s commitment.

He’s not a quarterback or a skill guy, but he’s an offensive lineman from Wisconsin, and with him being ranked No. 1 in the state, he was a must-land prospect.

Beyond that, Wisconsin didn’t have any four-star commitments in its 2022 class prior to Brunner, and even with him in the fold, the Badgers’ class, which has nine verbals, is 44th overall in 2022 according to the 247 team rankings, and 12th among 14 teams in the Big Ten.

It’s obviously still early in the process but that’s not where you want to be. Yet, the Badgers now have some notable momentum on the trail and some palpable excitement as Chryst and fans have a reason to celebrate, which the staff did when Brunner told them he was committing. Here’s more of what he told 247 sports:

"“They were starstruck. They didn’t believe me. They had to ask me twice, ‘Did you just commit?’ Got some screaming in. I had to scream with them. It definitely got the adrenaline pumping in the moment.”"

Brunner’s commitment might not be the last among four-star offensive linemen to the Badgers. Billy Schrauth, another four-star offensive lineman ranked 159th overall, also picked up a crystal ball projection to Wisconsin earlier this week.

Prior to that, all of Schrauth’s predictions had him going to Notre Dame, so with the addition of Brunner in mind, Wisconsin could be on the verge of beating out the Irish for another top 2022 target.