Maddox Cochrane committed to play college football at Wisconsin back in April. He officially changed his mind earlier this week because of all of the uncertainty surrounding the program.
The reason(s) for his decision paints a grim reality for the Badgers.
One of the most established brand names in college football chose to stick with a lame duck head coach, which creates more questions than answer. Its inability to recruit reflects the harsh reality of the unknown.
Who is Maddox Cochrane?
At 6-foot-7, 285 pounds, Cochrane is rated as a three-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2026. The Virginia-native currently holds 18 scholarship offers from schools like Coastal Carolina, Delaware, East Carolina and Duke, among others. That list will likely continue to grow in the coming weeks.
Cochrane committed to Wisconsin on April 20th. He decommitted on Nov. 17.
The reason for his decision stems from the decision to keep Luke Fickell as head coach. Recruits are choosing not to take such a big risk without knowing what the future holds. The Badgers could fire their head coach after three games next season. They might win a national title.
We don’t know! But the former is more likely than the latter.
With that in mind, Cochrane is moving on.
Wisconsin is down bad.
According to his conversation with Evan Flood of the Badger Blitz, the coaching staff in Madison tried to convince him to stay committed but they did not hold him hostage. It was a very cordial, respectful separation!
“The staff was all very respectable. Nobody gave me a hard time,” he said. “They all kept trying to tell me that if I stayed, it would benefit me. They’re all really good people. You wouldn’t expect them to badmouth me or trick me into something. Everyone was very mature about it.”
A flip is not imminent. Maddox Cochrane might not sign until February at this point.
“I haven’t been in any type of recruitment process. This is not a de-commit and flip type of deal.”
However, he knows where he is not going to end up. Wisconsin isn’t it.
Cochrane delivered one of the most savage quotes in college football recruiting history.
“I just can’t. I don’t feel comfortable going that far and not being certain of where I would end up. This season is not going — I know it’s a very hard schedule, but I thought it would be a different outcome. The first two games, they played Middle Tennessee and Miami (OH), and those were close games.”
Oof.
To make matters worse, fellow 2026 offensive lineman Benjamin Novak decommitted from the Badgers just a few days after Cochrane. They do not have a single offensive lineman left in this upcoming class.
Cochrane, and probably Novak too, “just can’t.” And I don’t blame them!