Wisconsin head football coach Bret Bielema completed his coaching staff on Monday.  Eddie Faulkner has been hired to coach the

Bret Bielema

Badgers’ tight ends. 

Faulkner was a running back at Wisconsin from 1996 through 2000 and spent last season as the running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Northern Illinois, working with current Wisconsin offensive coordinator Matt Canada. 

As running backs coach at NIU, Faulkner produced All-MAC tailback Jasmin Hopkins, who rushed for 956 yards and 15 touchdowns on 187 carries (5.1 avg).  NIU boasted the nation’s No. 12 rushing attack with an average of 234.14 yards per game.

Overseeing NIU’s special teams, Faulkner’s punt coverage unit ranked second nationally, yielding just one yard per return. 

Prior to NIU, Faulkner spent eight seasons at Ball State (2003-10). 

Faulkner was a member of two Big Ten championship teams as a running back at Wisconsin.  He rushed for 1,064 yards in his career and seven touchdowns. 

After graduating from UW, Faulkner signed a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2001 before going on to a pro career with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League.

Wisconsin coach Bret  Bielema will discuss his 2012 recruiting class this

Bret Bielema

afternoon in Madison. 

The group includes 12 scholarship players and 5 additional walk-on’s.  Three of the 12 scholarship players are from Wisconsin, while all five walk-on’s are from inside the state’s borders.

Here’s the updated list of scholarship players:

Bart Houston  -  QB  -  Concord, CA
Walker Williams  -  OL  -  Tacoma, Wash.
Vince Biegel  -  LB  -  Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Hugs Etienne  -  CB  -  Plantation, Fla.
Arthur Goldberg  -  DT  -  Mount Lebanon, Pa.
Vonte Jackson  -  RB  -  Kenosha, WI
Reggie Love  -  WR  -  Boynton Beach, Fla.
Jake Meador  -  OL  -  Greenwood, Ind.
Reggie Mitchell  -  CB  -  Pittsburgh, Pa.
Leo Musso  -  ATH  -  Waunakee, Wis.
D.J. Singleton  -  S  -  Union, NJ
Dan Voltz  -  OL  -  Barrington, IL

Here is the list of walk-on’s:

Trent Denlinger  -  DE  -  Cuba City, WI
Jake Rademacher  -  LB  -  Wales, WI
Jack Russell  -  K  -  Waunakee, WI
Logan Schmidt  -  DE  -  Gotham, WI
Alex Walker  -  TE  -  Glendale, WI

The Wisconsin Badgers 2012 recruiting class now has a total of 15 commits, 10 via scholarship and 5 more as walk-on’s.

Scholarship players that signed with the Badgers today follow:

Vince Biegel  -  LB  -  Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
Hugs Etienne  -  CB  -  Plantation, Fla.
Arthur Goldberg  -  DT  -  Mount Lebanon, Pa.
Vonte Jackson  -  RB  -  Kenosha, Wis
Reggie Love  -  WR  -Boynton Beach, Fla.
Jake Meador  -  OL  -  Greenwood, Ind.
Reggie Mitchell  -  CB  -  Pittsburgh, Pa.
Leo Musso  -  ATH  -  Waunakee, Wi.
D.J. Singleton  -  S  -  Union, N.J.
Dan Voltz  -  OL  -  Barrington, Ill.

Walk-on’s

Trent Denlinger  -  DE  -  Cuba City, Wis.
Jake Rademacher  -  LB  -  Wales, Wis.
Jack Russell  -  K  -  Waunakee, Wis.
Logan Schmidt  -  DE  -  Gotham, Wis.
Alex Walker  -  TE  -  Glendale, Wis.

The Badgers could still get a few more commitments yet today.

Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema is about to sign his smallest recruiting class.

Bret Bielema

The Badgers have 11 firm oral commitments .

The Badgers are crossing their fingers, hoping four-star offensive tackle Kyle Dodson  doesn’t jump ship, but that doesn’t seem lightly.  The University Heights, Ohio recruit is expected to sign with Ohio State after committing to the Badgers back in June.

The Badgers had already lost another four-star offensive tackle, J.J. Denman from Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania.  He’s attending Rutgers instead of Wisconsin.

The Badgers already have their first three recruits in.  Wisconsin announced that WR Reggie Love (Boca Raton, FL), DT Arthur Goldberg (Pittsburgh, PA) and walk-on DE Trent Denlinger (Cuba City, WI) have all signed their letters of intent. 

Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema’s class is expected to include at least 11 scholarship players, plus walk-ons.