The Wisconsin Badgers saw a ton of overhaul this offseason with their roster, adding several starters on both sides of the ball as they look to improve on a rough 4-8 campaign in 2025.
While Wisconsin should have new starters on the defensive line, at cornerback, and at safety, there are some key returning pieces that will play important roles for the Badgers as well. The most notable names are returning linebackers Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano, who broke out during the second half of the season
as true freshmen and are now full-time starters.
But another crucial piece to the puzzle is returning outside linebacker Sebastian Cheeks, who was a starter in 2025 and is now returning in an even bigger role with Mason Reiger and Darryl Peterson gone in 2026.
Cheeks had his best campaign yet in 2025, recording 25 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 3.0 sacks. He was also second on the team in pressures (27), while posting a very respectable 14.4 percent pass rush win rate, according to PFF.
Now, as he rises up another year into his redshirt senior season, Cheeks is set to lead the outside linebacker room. Ahead of the year, head coach Luke Fickell has seen some real growth from the fifth-year senior.
“Sebastian has grown incredibly,” Fickell said of Cheeks at the Big Ten Media Days. “I think that he’s a great example of some of the things that we’ve done within our program. I know it doesn’t show to everybody, but when these guys continue to return understanding, you know, where they have grown and what they have been able to do, they recognize the efforts that have been put in to make them who they are.
“And we’re looking for a big year out of Sebastian. I mean, he is in a position for us that has to be a disruptor. He’s a guy that has to create havoc for us defensively. We’ve been pretty darn good, especially late in the year last year defensively, and Sebastian had a big part of that. But he’s got to have a greater part of that going into this fall here soon.”
At 6’3, 243 pounds, Cheeks is a physical player who has regularly shown an ability to get to the quarterback through two years at Wisconsin. Now, he’s growing into a leader of the team, representing Wisconsin at this year’s Big Ten Media Days alongside receiver Chris Brooks Jr. and safety Matt Jung.
There are a couple of exciting players in that outside linebacker room, be it the jumbo edges (Justus Boone, Micheal Garner, Jaylen Williams, DeNigel Cooper), the upperclassmen looking to take the next step (Tyreese Fearbry, Liam Danitz), or the young upside pass rushers (Nicholas Clayton, Jayden Loftin, Sam Lateju, Yaahya Gaad).
This is a deeper room, with Boone, Garner, Williams, Cooper, Fearbry, and Clayton all potentially pushing for snaps this year alongside Cheeks. But, it’s the latter who is the leader of the room and a leader of the defense that will be given the biggest responsibility in 2026.
