When Luke Fickell was hired as the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers in November of 2022, excitement couldn’t be higher, both from the fanbase and nationally, as many lauded the move as the best hire of the cycle.
Nearly three years later, the Fickell partnership has been a disaster so far for Wisconsin, which has gone 14-16 under the head coach and 8-12 in conference play with eight consecutive losses in the Big Ten. The worst part is that the Badgers have seemingly regressed from Year 1 to Year 3
under Fickell, rather than trend up.
Throughout Fickell’s tenure, there have been recurring problems for the Badgers, such as slow starts, quarterback injuries, and ugly losses in rivalry games.
But, the most glaring problem of them all was the biggest reason why Fickell was hired: development. When he came to Wisconsin, the head coach preached the goal of championships, built on recruiting a 300-mile radius and focusing on high school recruits rather than the transfer portal.
None of that has come true yet, and the development of hand-picked players has been an issue so far. Let’s look back at every cycle and see where things went wrong.
2023
Being hired in November, Fickell had to scramble to keep Wisconsin’s 2023 class intact, while adding a few recruits of his own.
Wisconsin ended up with 15 recruits in the class, including one four-star, according to 247Sports. Of the 15 recruits, Braedyn Moore, Amare Snowden, Jonas Duclona, and Tucker Ashcraft were recruited by Fickell from Cincinnati or landed after coming to Wisconsin.
Of the group, only Ashcraft remains a Badger, and he has yet to develop into an impact player at Wisconsin, although he’s spent multiple years as a part-time starter.
The other recruits in the class were James Durand, Jamel Howard, AJ Tisdell, Jace Arnold, Nate White, Jordan Mayer, Tyler Jansey, Justin Taylor, Christian Alliegro, and Cole LaCrue. Of that group, only Howard and Alliegro remain on the team, with the latter developing into an impact starter.
So, in that 2023 class, Wisconsin ended up keeping just three players, with only one developing into a full-time starter in Year 3. Yes, many of the recruits weren’t handpicked by Fickell, but that was a rough start for the head coach.
What about the transfer class?
Wisconsin brought in 15 players. There were 10 on offense: quarterback Tanner Mordecai, quarterback Braedyn Locke, quarterback Nick Evers, wide receiver C.J. Williams, wide receiver Bryson Green, wide receiver Will Pauling, wide receiver Quincy Burroughs, offensive lineman Jake Renfro, offensive lineman Joe Huber, and kicker Nathanial Vakos.
Of the group, Mordecai panned out, but had inconsistencies and a month-long injury that hurt the Badgers. Additionally, Will Pauling had a good year, while offensive linemen Jake Renfro and Joe Huber were multi-year starters.
But, they failed to develop either quarterback Braedyn Locke or Nick Evers, who have departed the program. C.J. Williams always had potential, but never seemed to find his footing at Wisconsin. Bryson Green was never used properly and dealt with injuries. Burroughs couldn’t crack the depth chart. And Nathanial Vakos has made less than 70 percent of his field goals at Wisconsin.
Defensively, the five transfers were: defensive lineman Darian Varner, outside linebacker Jeff Pietrowski, cornerback Jason Maitre, cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean, and cornerback Michael Mack.
Varner and Pietrowski were misses up front. Maitre wasn’t a great culture fit and ended up being an average to below-average nickel corner. Fourqurean was up and down in Year 1, but had a quality-enough second year as the boundary corner. And Michael Mack couldn’t hit the field because of an ineligibility issue.
So, of the 15 transfers, there were essentially five hits with Mordecai, Pauling, Renfro, Huber, and Fourqurean. That’s an ugly rate. And Wisconsin couldn’t develop the quarterbacks or wide receivers they brought in, while also badly missing on its high school recruiting class.
2024
The argument heading into 2024 was that Fickell didn’t have his guys, which was fair since he didn’t have a whole cycle to recruit players to fit his scheme.
His 2024 recruiting class was a top-25 class in the country. There were several four-stars, including Kevin Heywood, Dilin Jones, Ernest Willor Jr., Dillan Johnson, Emerson Mandell, Grant Stec, Thomas Heiberger, Anelu Lafaele, Darrion Dupree, and Xavier Lucas.
There were many other notable recruits in the 22-man class as well, but just one year afterwards, Wisconsin lost seven recruits: quarterback Mabrey Mettauer, Lafaele, defensive lineman Hank Weber, tight end Rob Booker (medical retirement), cornerback Jay Harper, offensive lineman Derek Jensen, and Lucas.
That’s quite a few freshmen after just one year. Now, it’s unclear how many of those losses would actually be significant for the program outside of Lucas, who could’ve been Wisconsin’s best defensive player in 2025.
This class is very much a wait-and-see, as it’s too early to see who will pan out, which is the biggest argument for giving Fickell more time. So, let’s look at the transfer class, which consisted of 16 players.
Wisconsin brought in eight offensive players: quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, wide receiver Joseph Griffin Jr., offensive lineman Joey Okla, offensive lineman Leyton Nelson, tight end Jackson McGohan, running back Tawee Walker, wide receiver Tyrell Henry, and long snapper Cayson Pfeiffer.
Of the bunch, Wisconsin perhaps had only one hit: Walker. And even he was hampered by injuries that hurt him for the first part of the season.
Van Dyke was out after three games, where he was inconsistent. And, apart from Pfeiffer, none of the other players have become starters for the Badgers. Only Henry has been a rotational player even, and his impact hasn’t been seen much so far, outside of special teams, where he was inconsistent as well in 2024.
Defensively, the Badgers brought in eight transfers: outside linebackers Leon Lowery and John Pius, linebacker Sebastian Cheeks, linebacker Jaheim Thomas, cornerback RJ Delancy, linebacker Tackett Curtis, defensive lineman Elijah Hills, and defensive lineman Brandon Lane Jr.
Wisconsin was in dire need of defensive starters, and this group underwhelmed. Lowery and Pius were misses as starters. Thomas was below-average at linebacker. Delancy was, at best, average after playing a new corner position in the nickel. Hills was one of Wisconsin’s best defenders, but was still only an average defensive lineman who struggled against the run.
The rest of the players didn’t have a big role in 2024, although Cheeks and Curtis flashed in reserve roles. Both players have been key starters for the Badgers in 2025, so they can be considered hits, while Lane has become a rotational defensive lineman with some ups and downs.
Still, the Badgers did not get a great portal haul in 2024 after a disastrous one in 2023. Needing starters, they didn’t get nearly as much production as they needed, with the quarterback injury being a big killer.
2025
It’s way too early to gauge the 2025 class, but there is some promise there with players like linebacker Mason Posa, edge rusher Nicolas Clayton, wide receiver Eugene Hilton Jr., and more.
But, the transfer class is where judgments can be made, at least for the first five games of the season.
Wisconsin brought in a haul of transfers, landing 22 in the cycle as they really looked to revamp the team with more experience. How has that fared so far?
Of the 22, six have been projected starters: quarterback Billy Edwards, edge rusher Mason Reiger, defensive lineman Jay’Viar Suggs, cornerback Geimere Latimer Jr., cornerback D’Yoni Hill, and tight end Lance Mason.
Reiger has been a massive hit, being Wisconsin’s best pass-rusher and overall disruptor from the edge with his motor. Edwards has been a miss due to injury so far, with the Badgers relying on transfer quarterbacks Danny O’Neil and Hunter Simmons instead. O’Neil has struggled so far, and Simmons flashed a bit in his first start, but the jury is still out on him.
Latimer and Hill have been regulars in the secondary, but both have been inconsistent in man coverage, and Wisconsin’s defensive scheme has been hard on the corners, who play a ton of off coverage in zone. Mason has been a solid addition, but has been quiet after a 102-yard game in Week 2. And Suggs has been a part of Wisconsin’s stout run defense, but hasn’t produced as much of an impact as a pass-rusher.
Of Wisconsin’s other 16 transfers, four are regular rotational players: wide receiver Jayden Ballard, safety Matthew Jung, defensive lineman Parker Petersen, and outside linebacker Corey Walker.
Ballard has been quiet all season long since having a strong spring. Jung has struggled in place of Preston Zachman, while being the team’s No. 3 safety. Petersen has been a part of Wisconsin’s top four on the defensive line, contributing to the run defense, but also not being much of a pass-rusher. And Walker has been in there at times, but has missed games due to injury.
Looking elsewhere, offensive lineman Davis Heinzen was a big miss at left tackle, getting benched after one game. He looked solid at center in Week 6, but missing on him caused a major shuffle along the offensive line, which has hurt the team in a big way.
Tyreese Fearbry and Charles Perkins were fighting to be in the rotation in the front seven, but have seen minimal snaps early. Matthew Traynor hasn’t figured into the mix at safety. Antarron Turner has fallen behind true freshmen Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano at linebacker. And Micheal Garner’s snaps have been sporadic at outside linebacker.
On offense, Dekel Crowdus has gotten minimal snaps at wide receiver, mainly being used on gadget plays. Transfers Mark Hamper and Tanner Koziol departed in the spring portal after coming in during the winter. And the quarterback situation has been a mess.
Looking at the class, the big hit was Reiger. But, there hasn’t really been a ‘big’ hit outside of that, pointing to Wisconsin’s issues: they’ve struggled to identify quality talent in the transfer portal and haven’t seen the early success yet with high school talent.
The latter part will be best identified in 2026, but nearly every top program in the country is relying on underclassmen. As for the transfer portal, it has dearly cost the Badgers when trying to replace starters.
