Wisconsin football loses 2026 WR commit as Tayshon Bardo reopens recruitment

Wisconsin loses 2026 WR commit Tayshon Bardo amid the mounting on-field struggles, raising questions about the stability of the recruiting class.

2026 wide receiver Tayshon Bardo poses during a photo shoot on his official visit to the University of Wisconsin.

The fallout from the Wisconsin football team’s 37–0 home loss to Iowa is beginning to reach the recruiting trail.

Three-star wide receiver Tayshon Bardo announced he has decommitted from the Badgers, backing off his pledge as a member of the 2026 class.

Bardo said his decision came down to keeping his options open and not wanting to miss out on potential opportunities for himself and his family.

“God got me with my future,” Bardo wrote, “trust God.”

The Mishawaka (Ind.) standout had been one of the more visible and vocal leaders in Wisconsin’s 2026 recruiting class. The 6-foot, 185-pound wideout committed to the Badgers in March after multiple campus visits and strong early connections with former wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton and his eventual successor, Jordan Reid. At the time, it looked like one of the program’s steadier recruiting wins, a Big Ten prospect with a well-rounded skill set who bought into Luke Fickell’s long-term vision.

But much has changed since then.

Wisconsin’s 2025 season has unraveled, now sitting at 2–4 overall and 0–3 in Big Ten play, with fan confidence near an all-time low in the Fickell era. The Badgers’ struggles have not only impacted the locker room but are now starting to reverberate through a 2026 class that was supposed to help build a more sustainable foundation for the program’s future.

Bardo had been part of a three-receiver class that also featured four-star receiver Jayden Petit and three-star prospect Zion Legree. His decision leaves Wisconsin down a key playmaker who had already shown significant growth this fall, posting 11 receptions for 275 yards and three touchdowns through his first three games at Elkhart High School.

That early production built on a strong junior season at Mishawaka Penn, when he caught 33 passes for 540 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s sure-handed, polished as a route runner, and intriguing after the catch, traits that have become more consistent as his game continues to mature.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Bardo ranks as the No. 842 overall prospect in the 2026 class, the No. 115 wide receiver nationally, and the No. 11 player in the state of Indiana.

Following his commitment, Bardo praised Wisconsin’s culture and the family environment built by the staff. “They treat me like one of their own. “That definitely separates them from a lot of other programs.”

Now, the mood has shifted.

When a team loses its identity on the field, recruiting conversations can often start to feel like damage control. Wisconsin’s offense ranks at the bottom of the Big Ten, averaging just 292.5 yards per game and 15.5 points per contest. That number sits at an embarrassing 6.7 points per game in Big Ten play, and its lack of direction has made it harder to sell stability. The Badgers’ once-reliable reputation for consistency, built on 22 straight bowl appearances as the baseline, is suddenly outdated.

Bardo’s departure might not be a surprise given the circumstances, but it’s symbolic. It’s the first public decommitment since the Iowa blowout at Camp Randall, and it comes as Wisconsin prepares to face a brutal stretch that includes matchups with Ohio State, Indiana, and Oregon.

“You’ve got to recognize the things that are going to be the difference in getting guys, whether that’s high school guys or eventually transfer guys, and this age, it’s a little bit different,” Fickell said. “I’m not saying that the relationships don’t still matter. But you also have to recognize that it’s going to make it a little bit more difficult if you aren’t having success on the football field. They’ve got to be able to believe in what it is that you’re doing, in the direction of what you want. When they can’t see it as well, you’ve got to make sure that you can make them see it in a different way.”

For now, Bardo plans to take an official visit to Michigan State on Nov. 15, when Jonathan Smith and the Spartans host Penn State. The timing hints that his recruitment is officially wide open again heading into the winter.

As for Wisconsin, the ripple effect could be significant. The Badgers had already offered three-star Florida receiver Xavier Stinson, who recently decommitted from UCLA, suggesting the staff may have anticipated some movement at the position. Even so, this one stings. While I’m sure there are others in their ear, the staff is already working to fend off outside programs pursuing Amari Latimer and Jayden Petit, while Djidjou Bah has continued to draw interest and take visits of his own. Given the current state of the program, the fragility of this 2026 class cannot be overstated.

Recruiting momentum often runs parallel to on-field momentum, and right now, Wisconsin has neither to hang its hat on.

“You never stop recruiting,” Fickell said. “You never stop building, you never stop looking at what the future is like. The easiest thing to do is to have success on the football field. There’s no better way of recruiting. But the truth of the matter is, you have to continue to build the relationships.”

Whether Bardo’s decision becomes a one-off or the start of a broader trend will depend on what happens over the next few weeks. But if there’s one thing becoming clear, it’s that Wisconsin’s coaching staff can no longer sell recruits on the idea of recreating what Fickell built at Cincinnati, not with the results we’ve seen in Madison to this point. All that’s left to sell right now is belief in something recruits can’t yet see.

And for a once proud program that’s now lost nine straight games to Power 4 opponents, even that pitch is getting harder to make. Because when the results dry up, questions start piling up, including whether the coach you committed to will even be there when you arrive on campus.

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