One thing we have to keep in mind is that the top kids start getting recruited when they are sophomores (QBs often earlier). It's two years before they commit. For the class of '23 (signed December 2022) and '24 (signed December 2023) he had already developed relationships with non-WI kids and was trying to play catch-up with WI kids that the prior regime didn't develop relationships with.
For '25 he got a bunch of WI kids. Flanagan and Strebig are Catholic kids who went to Catholic HS and when ND comes calling... that's a really tough battle to win. Poteat wasn't coming to UW because they fired his father. But he got Roeske, Dean, Catalano, Pettaway, and Bork.
So this narrative that he hasn't been recruiting WI kids until now is false. He got just about everybody he realistically could get for '25, and for '26 the talent level was poor and got 1 of the 2 he wanted.