Wisconsin football loses top rated 2026 commit to SEC flip after official visit
Wisconsin football 2026 edge commit Carmelow Reed has flipped to Ole Miss after taking an official visit. Here's what it means for the Badgers.
You can feel the momentum swing both ways in recruiting—and sometimes, it only takes a weekend to shake things up. Coming out of a loaded slate of official visits that saw Wisconsin football land four new commitments (and counting), the program also suffered a notable blow.
Carmelow Reed, one of the most physically gifted prospects in the Badgers’ 2026 class and a player once viewed as the foundational piece of their hybrid defensive line group, officially flipped his verbal commitment to Ole Miss.
And while the timing may catch some by surprise, the signs were there.
Reed, a 6-foot-7, 250-pound edge rusher from Rich Township High School in Illinois, originally committed to Wisconsin back in April following a strong spring visit. At the time, the Badgers were his first Power Four scholarship offer—and the staff’s consistency, authenticity, and vision made a lasting impression. Reed said it felt like family—that he was treated like a priority, not a backup plan.
“They’ve shown consistent support, and it feels like home,” Reed said. “I chose Wisconsin because it felt like a family.”
But relationships in recruiting don’t live in a vacuum—and they don’t exist without pressure. If you’re still taking visits while you’re committed, you’re not actually committed. Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell and his staff understand that. They know where things actually stand.
Ole Miss entered late, offering Reed on May 30 and hosting him for his first official visit of the summer that same weekend. The Badgers recruiting department had an official visit scheduled for Reed on June 6, but that door had closed after his time spent in Oxford.
Lane Kiffin’s staff made a move—and they closed. Tip of the cap to them.
From a recruiting standpoint, this is a gut punch. Reed wasn’t just a name on the commit list. He was the highest-rated name in Wisconsin's class, according to the 247Sports Composite. At No. 532 nationally and the No. 13 player in Illinois, Reed was a nice win from the Chicagoland area. He brought length, athleticism, and versatility as a potential boundary OLB or five-tech hybrid. That frame? That upside? Hard to replace—but not impossible.
He was also Wisconsin’s first defensive line/edge commit in 2026. And his early commitment had allowed the staff to start building a defensive front around him—something they did by adding Arthur Scott and Djidjou Bah over the weekend while Reed was on his official visit to Ole Miss.
Those additions soften the blow. But let’s be clear: Reed was different. When he committed, Reed mentioned that it felt like the staff was aligned. That guys like Matt Mitchell were real with him from day one. That the vibe in the building, from academics to the locker room, felt right.
And all of that was true—at the time. But in the current college football landscape, the portal and NIL era don’t just affect players on campus. It shapes high school recruiting from the first offer to the last.
This was a player Wisconsin worked hard to identify early, develop a relationship with, and earn trust from. And despite doing everything right on paper, it still wasn’t enough to keep Reed. That doesn’t mean panic. It means perspective.
The Badgers now drop to 10 known commitments in the 2026 cycle. But the board remains loaded with high-priority targets, including four-star linebacker McHale Blade, wide receiver Jayden Petit, offensive tackle Kamari Blair, running back Amari Latimer, and athlete Jackson Ford. Each of them is coming off an official visit.
Each would move the needle. And plenty of other notable recruits are coming to campus for official visits this weekend.
The reality? A verbal commitment just doesn’t carry the weight it used to. Not in this era. And you can’t really fault a kid for wanting to lock in a spot at a school that feels like a fit—because you never know what offers are going to pop up or when a financial package might come along that changes the equation. That’s the world we live in now. This is college football.
And as hard as it is to keep a player committed during the recruiting process, it’s even harder to keep them on board once they actually get to campus.
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