I don’t know if we have really gone H2H with Marquette on the trail for HS kids? Even when TJ was here, we mostly just took the guys that wanted out of Marquette. Marquette is a pretty niche school with no football and located in a pretty ****** area. I think Wisconsin kids know this. Last year they had ONE wisconsin native on the team. I don’t think Shaka Smart changes anything really. It’s not 2013.
Don't disagree with you on the lack of prior Marquette recruiting battles. My bigger concern is that Shaka has recruited the midwest while at Texas, and I would anticipate he will make than an even bigger focus now. That certainly doesn't help TJ's plan of focusing on the midwest, who knows how much it will hurt. Regardless of his W-L at Texas, Shaka is still a well-known name, with lots of energy and a "player's coach" reputation. Now he is going back home, at a job that is maybe better suited for his program style.
Hope we can get our share of top kids from MN, WI, IL, IA, as well as MI, MO, NE, SD. Throw in the new coach at Minny and there will be some tough recruiting battles in the coming years!