The Wisconsin Badgers made their first move for a defensive lineman in the transfer portal, adding Arkansas Razorbacks transfer edge Justus Boone, he announced over the weekend.
Boone, a redshirt senior this season, played in 12 games in 2025, making three starts. He recorded 28 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one pass breakup, and three quarterback hurries. Standing at 6’5, 290 pounds, he could play on the edge, but he seems more of a Darryl Peterson replacement as a versatile player who
could see some snaps on the interior in the rotation.
Boone is a different type of player, more so being a better run-defender, while Peterson was a good all-around player, but the vision is the same for Wisconsin, which is losing a number of front-seven guys due to eligibility this offseason.
The Badgers looked for bigger defensive linemen to help stop the run better last offseason, changing their outlook at the position. The addition of Boone continues that trend.
Boone will be entering his sixth year of college football. He was initially a four-star recruit in the Class of 2021 and signed with the Florida Gators. After redshirting his freshman season, Boone played in all 13 games as a sophomore in 2022, recording 24 tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, and a quarterback hurry.
He then missed the entire 2023 season due to injury, which is where the extra year of eligibility comes from, and played in 11 games in 2024 at Florida, recording 10 tackles, 0.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, and a pass breakup.
After four years at Florida, he transferred to Arkansas for his redshirt senior season and will now spend his sixth and final year of eligibility at Wisconsin.
