Wisconsin lost the top rated player in its own state in the 2024 class to Minnesota last month in offensive lineman Nathan Roy. Luke Fickell and the Badgers paid the Gophers back on Tuesday by getting a commitment from the top player in Minnesota.

Four-star offensive lineman Emmerson Mandell (Irondale, Minn.) announced his decision on social media.

https://twitter.com/_mandell/status/1676335748289527808?s=20

Wisconsin didn’t offer Mandell until late April but a mid-week official visit in June gave the Badgers a huge lift. Mandell also visited Minnesota and Iowa State before making his decision. He also held offers from Texas A&M, Penn State, Oklahoma, Illinois, Iowa and others.

The 6-foot-5, 295-pound Mandell projects as an interior player at the college level. In addition to being the top player in Minnesota, he is ranked as No. 24 interior lineman in the country and a top-300 recruit overall.

Mandell makes it five offensive linemen in Wisconsin’s 2024 class, joining Kevin Heywood, Derek Jensen, Colin Cubberly and Ryan Cory. He is also the fifth four-star recruit in a class that now has 16 commits.

This will be the third time in the last five classes that Wisconsin has gotten the top player in the state of Minnesota.