With the 2026 recruiting cycle wrapping up for the Wisconsin football staff, the Badgers are hoping to secure a commitment from a top target.
Jowell Combay, a four-star safety in the 2026 class from Georgia, attends Kell High School and has quickly become a major recruiting piece for Wisconsin within the class. Combay and teammate Tony Forney earned scholarships from Wisconsin together and have since visited the program officially and unofficially together. However, with Forney announcing a commitment to the Missouri Tigers, the Wisconsin staff could miss out on both defensive backs.
Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Forney joins the Missouri Tigers as the program is in the midst of building up their 2026 recruiting class. The safety is currently the lowest ranked commitment in the cycle for the Tigers, but could bring along with him a talented four-star recruit in Combay.
Will the Wisconsin Football Staff Land Jowell Combay in the Coming Days?
While Combay would be an excellent addition at this stage in the 2026 cycle, the Wisconsin football staff has played every card and likely still did not have enough to land the recruit.
— Jowell Combay (@JowellCombay) July 4, 2025
The talented defensive back has been a tough case to crack thus far as the recruit has gone about the process in a far different manner than his teammate Forney. Previously, the duo sticking together seemed like it would not happen given the projected finalists for each recruit, but after the two communicated multiple times on social media regarding the matter, the idea of the high school teammates sticking together in college does not seem outrageous any longer and rather likely.
Combay replied “where we going” to a post Forney made regarding his commitment decision being scheduled for July 4th and then later replied with wide eye emojis on the commitment post Forney made.
Forney is a talented defender, but the Badgers have put more time and effort into landing a commitment from Combay which could result in losing both prospects. The Wisconsin football staff recruited Forney for hard for a short period of time but never quite showed the same level of interest in the safety.
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