The Wisconsin Badgers have been one of the busiest teams in the transfer portal through the first week of the window opening, landing 23 commitments so far. That ranks sixth in the country and is the most
of any team that didn’t have a head coaching change this offseason.
Wisconsin has added players at every position on offense and defense in the portal, looking to add both starting-caliber players and depth pieces across the board with their increased financial investment.
Even with the 23 commitments, there is still some work to do, and I expect the Badgers to add a few more players to their transfer portal class when it’s all said and done.
What are the remaining needs for Wisconsin in the transfer portal? Let’s break it down position-by-position.
Quarterback
IN (2): Colton Joseph, Deuce Adams
OUT (2): Billy Edwards Jr., Hunter Simmons
Wisconsin got its QB1 by landing Old Dominion transfer Colton Joseph. He’s their guy with two years of eligibility left. Louisville redshirt freshman Deuce Adams committed to the program on Thursday, adding depth to the room.
With Adams and Joseph in, Wisconsin has five scholarship quarterbacks for 2025, including Danny O’Neil, Carter Smith, and incoming freshman Ryan Hopkins. With O’Neil likely sidelined for much of the offseason recovering from injury, it made sense to add another quarterback for reps in the spring and the Fall.
Smith and Adams can compete for the No. 2 spot while taking most of the backup reps behind Joseph this offseason. This room is complete.
Running Back
IN (3): Abu Sama, Bryan Jackson, Nate Palmer
OUT (2): Dilin Jones, Cade Yacamelli
Probably one of my favorite rooms when it comes to portal additions. Abu Sama has been very productive and is that explosive piece for the running back room. Bryan Jackson adds size at 6’0, 235 pounds, and definitely showed his potential as a freshman at USC. Nate Palmer adds some needed depth as a redshirt freshman, with Gideon Ituka recovering from injury.
With Darrion Dupree also in the fold, Wisconsin is essentially four-deep at running back, which they needed given how last year played out. Good additions here with a good balance of player types for Jeff Grimes. This room seems done as well.
Wide Receiver
IN (2): Jaylon Domingeaux, Shamar Rigby
OUT (6): Vinny Anthony, Jayden Ballard, Trech Kekahuna, Kyan Berry-Johnson, Joseph Griffin Jr., Dekel Crowdus
The Badgers have hosted quite a few wide receivers and got two commitments so far with Southeastern Louisiana’s Jaylon Domingeaux and Oklahoma State’s Shamar Rigby. Also got a big retention with Eugene Hilton Jr. back, which should elevate the room.
Still, think the Badgers have some questions in this room and need one or two more guys here. Don’t really have that true proven No. 1 at this level, and I think they need more production in the room.
Currently, Wisconsin has Domingeaux, Rigby, Hilton, Chris Brooks Jr., Tyrell Henry, and incoming freshmen Keeyshawn Tabuteau and Zion Legree at wide receiver. Need more here, and I’d say two more to feel comfortable, although Wisconsin may only add one more player.
Tight End
IN (2): Jacob Harris, Ryan Schwendeman
OUT (3): Jackson Acker, Lance Mason, Tucker Ashcraft
Badgers moved quickly to get their two guys. Jacob Harris is more of the receiver, although he hasn’t been tested in a high-volume role (and don’t expect that here at Wisconsin). Curious to see how he is as a red zone threat with his size at 6’4, 255 pounds.
Schwendeman is a physical blocker at 6’4, 245 pounds. Wisconsin needed multiple tight ends, both for the experience and also because they use multiple tight end sets quite a bit. I don’t think either player is the receiving threat Lance Mason was, so probably expecting a downtick in production at tight end, which makes adding more receiver talent even more important.
Offensive Line
IN (4): P.J. Wilkins, Lucas Simmons, Blake Cherry, Austin Kawecki
OUT (6): Jake Renfro, Riley Mahlman, Joe Brunner, JP Benzschawel, Kerry Kodanko, Davis Heinzen
Offensive line was going to be a need with Mahlman, Renfro, and Brunner all likely not back in addition to the three other departing seniors. New coach Eric Mateos got himself a new starting center in Austin Kawecki, who was one of the top players at his position in the portal.
Blake Cherry is a promising freshman who probably fits in the two-deep on the interior. Lucas Simmons is a former top-100 prospect who has good size (6’8, 310 pounds), but hasn’t really panned out yet. Wilkins is a versatile player who started two games at Ole Miss this year before moving into a swing role.
Expecting Simmons and Wilkins to compete (Simmons at tackle, Wilkins at multiple positions), but not sure how confident I am in either outright winning the job right now. Will wait for the spring competition to play out. Also felt like Wisconsin could’ve gone a different direction here and gone after a more proven tackle to play on the right side with their resources.
Still could see one more addition here, but the Badgers are already at 16 scholarship players and I wouldn’t expect any plug-and-play starter types.
Defensive Line
IN (2): Hammond Russell, Junior Poyser
OUT (7): Parker Petersen, Jay’Viar Suggs, Ben Barten, Brandon Lane Jr., Charles Perkins, Ernest Willor Jr., Jamel Howard
Lots of senior departures here. Wisconsin added West Virginia transfer Hammond Russell and Buffalo transfer Junior Poyser, but lost Charles Perkins to the portal this week. All three were projected starters or two-deep linemen this season.
Russell is a big body at 6’3, 315 pounds. Main goal here will be to eat up space in the middle and help stop the run, though his production hasn’t been great at West Virginia. You’re hoping to get some pass-rush from Poyser, who feels like a Suggs replacement as a disrupter who can defend the run and get after the quarterback a bit.
Still, the Badgers definitely need more help here. Behind these two, the current group has Dillan Johnson, Nolan Vils, Xavier Ukponu, Torin Pettaway, and incoming freshmen Arthur Scott and Djidjou Bah. Expecting competition amongst the younger guys, but the Badgers like to roll six deep at defensive line and don’t have nearly the amount of experience they’d probably want.
Perkins leaving hurts, but I think Wisconsin needs two more players here. Expecting them to go after at least one more.
EDGE/Outside Linebackers
IN (1): Justus Boone
OUT (3): Mason Reiger, Darryl Peterson, Corey Walker
The Badgers got one edge player in the portal with Arkansas senior Justus Boone, who fits Wisconsin’s scheme as a bigger guy (6’5, 290 pounds) who can help stop the run. Doesn’t have much pass-rush arsenal, so expect him to play more on early downs, but could be a starter in base packages for Wisconsin.
Younger players probably step up here, with Nick Clayton getting a bigger role, and Sebastian Cheeks taking another step as a starter. Still think one (maybe two) more additions here for experience and/or pass-rush would be good.
Think the Badgers feel confident, though, with their current group that also includes Tyreese Fearbry, who probably also steps into a bigger role here.
Inside Linebackers
IN (2): Taylor Schaefer, Jon Jon Kamara
OUT (3): Christian Alliegro, Tackett Curtis, Aaron Witt, Antarron Turner
Badgers were in pretty good standing here with Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano, and added two backup linebackers who are versatile and can fit in the two-deep this year with Taylor Schaefer and Jon Jon Kamara.
Both are very different players (Schaefer could play on the edge, Kamara being an athletic freak), and should see some snaps behind the top two linebackers. Perhaps one gets to compete for the star role with Thomas Heiberger.
Cornerback
IN (4): Javan Robinson, Bryce West, Cai Bates, Eric Fletcher
OUT (4): Ricardo Hallman, D’Yoni Hill, Geimere Latimer, Nyzier Fourqurean
Another room where the Badgers added a ton. They got an experienced multi-year starter with Robinson, who fits well in the run game and could play on the inside or outside. West was a highly-touted recruit out of high school who projected to start in the nickel for Ohio State next year. Also a guy who could play inside or outside.
Bates is a former four-star recruit with three years of eligibility left who couldn’t see the field much at Florida State but has some nice size and length at 6’2 on the boundary with some untapped potential. Fletcher is also a younger guy with three years left. So, some experience and younger development pieces in the room.
Thought Wisconsin could’ve gone for one more experienced corner rather than three redshirt freshmen without much playing time, but I really liked the West pickup. Thought this room was done, but the Badgers have Aaron Scott Jr., a former five-star Ohio State defensive back, on campus right now. Would be a luxury add to the room.
Safety
IN (2): Marvin Burks Jr., Carson Van Dinter
OUT (3): Preston Zachman, Austin Brown, Remington Moss
Badgers got a big add with Marvin Burks, an experienced, multi-year starter at Missouri. He’s an instant starter. Carson Van Dinter was a solid younger addition as well with three years of eligibility left. He could compete with Matt Jung for the starting role opposite Burks, but I felt this room needed two experienced portal starters.
Would feel much better with another starting-caliber addition here. Let’s see if Wisconsin gets there.
