The Badgers are firmly in the mix for a top four-star wide receiver in the 2026 class.
The Wisconsin Badgers cracked the top six for 2026 four-star receiver Naeem Burroughs back at the beginning of the month, joining a loaded group of suitors that includes Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Texas, and Notre Dame.
Burroughs, the brother of current Badgers wide receiver Quincy Burroughs, is a Florida native and arguably Wisconsin’s top wideout target in the Class of 2026.
What has stood out about Wisconsin for the four-star receiver?
“Just the love for the coaches,” Burroughs said about the Badgers. “I met the coaches when I was pretty young when they were at Cincinnati. They just continuously show love. I met [wide receivers] coach [Kenny] Guiton when I went up there too since he got there this year. Coach Guiton is a great coach. Great guy. Honestly, keep conversations with him. He’s keep telling me how they want me up there and stuff like that. Just want me on the team.”
“I’ve gotten to know him. Like I said, he’s a great guy. Great person, someone just great to talk to honestly. Not even on a football level, outside of football, too. So my brother tells me about a lot of the times that they have conversations that has nothing to do with football, just him as a person and Coach Guiton, just teaching them up and building them up.”
A key factor in Burroughs’s recruitment that could make a difference is the family connection to Wisconsin.
“It’s a big thing,” Burroughs said about the family connection. “[Coach Fickell] obviously always been there talking to my mom, talking to my dad. His relationship with my brother and my relationship with him is continuously starting to grow, so that plays a big part.”
“It plays a big part, but it’s not going to be like just the overall thing where I just go based off that. But it is going to play a big part of our [decision].”
The Badgers aren’t the only team in the mix though, as each of Burroughs’s other top schools has made a concerted effort to pursue him to this point.
He’s looking to return to Florida State this offseason, as they’ve shown him consistent love throughout the process. However, it’s more of a wait-and-see process with the Seminoles after their struggles this past season, as Burroughs wants to see how everything works and how this year plays out for them.
The wide receiver has expressed the need for a strong connection with the head coach at whatever program he ends up with, which compiles with scheme as two key external factors in his recruitment.
“Scheme [of the] offense [is a big factor],” Burroughs said. “I don’t really want to go to a run-heavy school, obviously. Scheme of offense, energy from coaches. A lot of coaches you can be real close with the receiver coach, but the head coach don’t really want you there or shows that he wants you there. So that means a lot. Just not even with me, just also my parents, you know, talking to my parents and trying to get to know me and my family as a whole and not just me as a football player. So [the] coaches that want me to become a better person, better man, stuff like that.
The Badgers have undergone some major changes offensively, hiring new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes after former coordinator Phil Longo was fired with two games to go in the season.
Since the move, Burroughs has yet to be in communication with either Grimes or head coach Luke Fickell.
Instead, the wideout has consistently heard from Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Florida State’s Mike Norvell, and Florida’s Billy Napier.
“I would say Coach Freeman texts me a lot. Coach Sweeney, Coach Norvell checks in on me like once or twice a week. So, I mean, they’re all pretty consistent,” Burroughs said. “Coach Napier [as well]. “I have a group chat with like almost all of them. Like me and my mom in there, my parents. So they kind of keep in touch with us.”
Unofficial visits and Junior Days are yet to be planned for the four-star receiver, who hasn’t gotten the time to narrow his list down even further and think about official visits yet.
For now, his goal is to get out to Notre Dame and Texas, the two schools he hasn’t visited yet, as he’s already been to Florida, Florida State, Clemson, and Wisconsin multiple times.
After feeling out those two campuses, Burroughs will decide on his official visit list and narrow down his recruitment.