Wisconsin football top class of 2026 target, four-star edge Jackson Ford, committed to the Penn State Nittany Lions on Friday.
Ford elected to join James Franklin’s program over the Badgers, Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes — a group of finalists that he announced on Tuesday. Ford officially visited Madison the weekend of May 30 before venturing to State College, Pennsylvania, for a visit with the Nittany Lions the following weekend.
247Sports considers the Malvern, Pennsylvania, native as the No. 202 overall player in the class of 2026, the No. 22 edge and No. 5 player from his home state. 247Sports, On3 and Rivals all list the standout edge rusher as a four-star recruit.
Ford joins a Penn State class of 2026 that currently holds the No. 9 position in the country and No. 3 in the Big Ten with 21 players – including eight four-stars – committed. USC and Ohio State boast the No. 1 and No. 2 positions in the conference, respectively.
Ford’s decision is a dispiriting one for the Badges’ recruiting staff. The program holds the No. 44 overall ranking in the country and No. 14 in the Big Ten with 14 players committed. One of those pledges is a blue-chip recruit: four-star wide receiver Jayden Petit.
Edge rusher is a position of great importance for UW’s 2026 cohort. The Badgers witnessed top defensive line target Ben Duncum commit to the Kentucky Wildcats on Wednesday and defensive lineman Kobe Cherry commit to Purdue on Monday. Wisconsin has secured two defensive line commitments thus far from three-star recruits Djidjou Bah and Arthur Scott, although Bah took an official visit to Missouri this past weekend.
With decisions from Ford and Duncum, UW will now direct a majority of its recruiting focus towards running back Amari Latimer and offensive tackle Kamari Blair, two blue-chip prospects. With only Nebraska, Maryland, Iowa and Northwestern ranked below UW’s 2026 class, Wisconsin is nearing must-land for several of those high-level prospects.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin football top 2026 edge target commits to a Big Ten rival
Reporting by Mike Hall, Badgers Wire / Badgers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
