MADISON, Wis. -- It's Wednesday, February 1st, and that means it's National Signing Day. High school prospects are able to sign their national letters of intent today, making them officially part of their respective teams. The Badgers have about 12 verbal commitments this year, with three players already enrolled in classes. This page will be updated as news breaks, so be sure to keep checking throughout the day.
Head coach Bret Bielema will hold a press conference today at 3:00 p.m., and I'll be there to get his thoughts on the newest Badgers, as well as to speak with the new assistant coaches and the early enrollees.
2:55 PM: Bart Houston's signing was officially announced by the athletic department this afternoon, rounding out the Badgers' 2012 signing class for the moment. I'm at Camp Randall for Bret Bielema's press conference, so there will be much more on signing day later this evening.
12:33 PM: Tacoma, Wash., offensive lineman Walker Williams has signed his letter of intent, and is officially listed by the Athletic Department on their list of signees. Still waiting on Bart Houston's signing to become official.
In addition, the Badgers lost out on Cleveland Heights offensive lineman Kyle Dodson, who signed with Ohio State. Dodson had been verbally committed to Wisconsin, but reopened his recruitment after Urban Meyer took over for his home state Buckeyes.
11:11 AM: QB Bart Houston has signed his letter of intent, according to Tom Lea of Rivals.com and Ben Worgull of Scout.com. Still waiting on official word from the Athletic Department.
9:53 AM: Chalk up another preferred walk-on. The Badgers added TE Matt Prell from Kenosha, Wis. Prell went to the saem school as running backs Vonte Jackson and Melvin Gordon. We're still waiting on news about the west coast recruits.
9:21 AM: The Badgers picked up their first "surprise" commitment of the day. Whiteland, Ind., offensive lineman Jake Meador signed his LOI to play for the Badgers, and announced his decision at his high school. Meador is a three-star recruit according to Rivals, and picked Wisconsin over Florida and Missouri.
Meador's decision leaves the Badgers waiting on just a few west coast recruits, unless they get more surprise commitments. Quarterback Bart Houston and offensive lineman Walker Williams are verbally committed to Wisconsin, but need to wait until 7 a.m. local time to sign their letters of intent.
8:45 AM: Four-star linebacker Vince Biegel, the top rated prospect in Wisconsin, has signed his LOI, according to the Wisconsin athletic department. Biegel is from Wisconsin Rapids, and joins a deep linebacker corps at Wisconsin.
8:11 AM: The Athletic Department announced five new Badgers: CB Reggie Mitchell (Pittsburgh), ATH Leo Musso (Waunakee), LB Jake Rademacher (Wales, Wis.), S D.J. Singleton (Union, N.J.), K Jack Russell (Waunakee), DE Logan Schmidt (Gotham, Wis.), and TE Alex Walker (Glendale, Wis.). Of those seven, Mitchell, Musso, and Singleton are on scholarship. The others will walk on this fall.
7:47 AM: According to the Athletic Department Live Blog, the Badgers received another LOI but are holding on announcing it at the player's request until he can announce it at his High School. The live blog says the announcement should be at about 9:00 a.m. CST.
That sounds like offensive lineman Jake Meador, who the Badgers recruited late after Mike Markuson joined as the offensive line coach. Stay tuned.
7:32 AM: We have our first confirmed signees: DT Arthur Goldberg, WR Reggie Love, and DE Trent Denlinger. Goldberg is a three-star recruit from Pittsburgh, and Love is a three-star receiver from Boca Raton, Fla. Denlinger is from Cuba City, Wis., and will walk on to the team as either a defensive end or an offensive lineman.