The 2027 recruiting class has been the big focus for the Wisconsin Badgers over the past few weeks, but the program did see some recent news with its 2026 class.
Four-star running back signee Qwantavius “Fatboy” Wiggins requested a release from his National Letter of Intent (NLI) earlier this week, and has found his next school: Georgia State.
A native of Georgia, Wiggins was Wisconsin’s lone addition in the 2026 class at running back after fellow four-star commit Amari Latimer flipped to the West
Virginia Mountaineers on Signing Day. He had been seen as a quality prospect with a ready-now build, and was set to be Wisconsin’s No. 5 back this season behind Darrion Dupree, Abu Sama III, Bryan Jackson, and Nate Palmer.
But, the Badgers went out and got Julius Pope, the No. 1 JUCO running back in the country, earlier this month, signifying that a change could be coming in the running back room, which we hinted at. Now, that has been revealed: Wiggins will not be enrolling at Wisconsin and will instead begin his collegiate career at Georgia State.
So, for the 2026 season, the Badgers will go with a different five running backs, swapping Pope for Wiggins.
Looking at the future, Wisconsin still has quite a bit of youth in its running back room. Each back, apart from Sama, has eligibility remaining in 2027, while Palmer and Pope will both have multiple years left after the season.
