The Wisconsin Badgers brought in a strong 2025 recruiting class, ranking just outside the Top 25, as they landed several blue-chip talents from outside the state.
A couple of those players ended up seeing playing time as true freshmen, but none stood out more than linebacker tandem Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano.
Posa, a four-star recruit and the highest-rated commit for the Badgers in 2025, joined the Badgers only in the summer last year. But it was clear he’d be a contributor sooner than later, and honestly,
it was a bit of a surprise that he didn’t start to eat at more reps sooner with his versatility and overall skillset. Catalano, on the other hand, was a three-star recruit coming out of high school, but regularly flashed in spring ball, making it clear that he could play at this level.
Both ultimately took over starting roles in late October after an injury to Christian Alliegro, and are the centerpieces of the Badgers defense in 2026, with Posa making the Freshman All-American team last year.
With those two being the guys going forward, Alliegro and Tackett Curtis entered the transfer portal this offseason, leaving a lack of depth at the position. So the Badgers were active in the transfer portal this offseason, landing JUCO transfer Taylor Schaefer early before also getting Kansas transfer Jon Jon Kamara to round out the room.
Schaefer is expected to be more of a hybrid player, while Kamara has freak athleticism, which the Badgers have been looking for more at the linebacker position. Early in the offseason, we’ve seen Kamara and 2024 four-star Thomas Heiberger see a good amount of reps behind Posa and Catalano.
Heiberger was a player that the Badgers had long envisioned a role for, first as an outside linebacker before moving him to an inside linebacker, where he now plays the role that Aaron Witt had in 2025. Wisconsin has tried out some three-linebacker looks with Heiberger, Posa, and Catalano all together, which could be a very intriguing base defense this season.
What have the Badgers seen from the group overall so far in the spring?
“[Cooper] Catalano, [Mason] Posa, of course, they’ve proven they’re really good players,” defensive coordinator Mike Tressel said. “But I see Tommy (Thomas Heiberger), I see JonJon [Kamara] certainly being in the position to push them. Because if you just have two and there’s no one pushing them, how are we going to get better?
“And we ultimately know you got to get your best players on the field and do what they do best. I think both of those guys can rush the passer. They have length in coverage and they can run. So I don’t feel like we’re losing a whole bunch in coverage. Other than maybe some man things when we’re out there with 3 backers.”
The Badgers have wanted to run four linebackers under Tressel in the last three years to keep their starters fresh. This season, with the three-linebacker looks, they might bump those reps up for the reserves, as they’ve got more versatile linebackers.
While there are questions about a couple of position groups on both sides of the roster, they’ve got quite a strong linebacker room heading into 2026.
