With basketball season now officially over, it’s time to move on to the Wisconsin Badgers football team, with spring ball starting up this week. The Badgers hosted their first practice on Thursday, with their second open practice to the media being on Saturday morning.
Wisconsin has a far different team in 2026 after overhauling its roster via the transfer portal once again this offseason. The Badgers brought in 33 transfers, which was the eighth-most in the country and the second-most of any team that
didn’t have a head coaching change this offseason.
That coincided with 23 players exiting via the transfer portal, so Wisconsin needed a large batch of transfers to improve the roster and acquire depth at key positions.
With spring ball starting, let’s break down every position group. We started with the quarterback and running back rooms. Now, let’s move on to wide receiver, where there was quite a bit of overhaul this year.
Here’s what the room projects to look like heading into the spring.
Starters: Jaylon Domingeaux (senior), Chris Brooks (redshirt senior), Tyrell Henry (redshirt senior)
Backups: Eugene Hilton (sophomore), Shamar Rigby (junior), Zion Kearney (junior), Malachi Coleman (redshirt junior)
Depth: Keeyshawn Tabuteau (freshman), Kash Brock (freshman), Zion Legree (freshman), Jackson McGohan (redshirt junior)
This group is the one with the most unknowns heading into the spring. The Badgers brought in Jaylon Domingeaux (Southeastern Louisiana), Shamar Rigby (Oklahoma State), Zion Kearney (Oklahoma), and Malachi Coleman (Nebraska) from the transfer portal this offseason.
They also added three freshmen (Keeyshawn Tabuteau, Kash Brock, and Zion Legree), bringing in seven new scholarship players. From last season, only Chris Brooks, Tyrell Henry, and Eugene Hilton return as wideouts. That trio combined for 24 catches last year.
Heading into spring ball, I see Brooks and Domingeaux as the lead wideouts on the outside, though those spots are definitely open for competition. The slot receiver spot is the one I’m most curious about, as Wisconsin added quite a few bigger-bodied receivers this offseason.
Domingeaux, Kearney, Rigby, and Coleman are all at least 6’3 and seem to project better on the outside. That’s why I could see Eugene Hilton earn more reps playing inside and outside, but we’ll see what the Badgers do this spring.
I’d expect Wisconsin to run six or seven deep this year, but was a little skeptical of the Badgers’ strategy at the position this offseason. Rather than getting a top-end wideout that could’ve made an immediate impact, Wisconsin added a ton of players to get more depth. In today’s world of NIL resources, we’ll see if that strategy pays off for the Badgers.
Wisconsin could also try out some of its freshmen in the slot to get some early playing time, with Tabuteau seeming like a natural fit there. They’ve also moved Jackson McGohan to wide receiver, adding more depth there, and he could profile as a big slot at 6’4, 225 pounds.
Overall, this is the group with the most questions. Those likely won’t be answered until games start in the Fall, and competition should be big here. But Wisconsin badly needs more contributors on the perimeter after seeing inconsistent production at wide receiver since Luke Fickell arrived in Madison. Can this group be the one to buck that trend?
