Badgers: Varsity Collective places billboard in Times Square

It is National Signing Day and The Varsity Collective went all out Wednesday to welcome Wisconsin’s incoming recruits and transfers.

The Collective, which was started last year as a way to help Wisconsin athletes in the name, image and likeness (NIL) era, put up a billboard in New York City in Times Square that it said was designed to give the athletes their “15 minutes of fame.”

The video billboard features 19 players — the 13 players signed from the transfer portal and the six early enrollees as part of the 2023 recruiting class. The group includes quarterbacks Tanner Mordecai and Nick Evers, wide receivers CJ Williams and Bryson Green, along with offensive lineman Jake Renfro.

The Collective also is putting up billboards in the hometowns of the six early enrollees — CB Jace Arnold (Marietta, Ga.), CB Jonas Duclona (Naples, Fla.), LB Tyler Jansey (Batavia, Ill), QB Cole LaCrue (Broomfield, Colo.), LB Jordan Mayer (Jefferson Hills, Penn.) and S Braedyn Moore (Hamilton, Ohio).

“When you commit to Wisconsin, you don’t just become a Badger on the field – you join a family that will support you in the classroom, in the community and in your career,” said The Varsity Collective Executive Chair Rob Master in a release. “These young men have promising futures ahead of them, and we look forward to continuing to help them make the most of their NIL opportunities during their time in a Badger uniform and beyond.”