The Athletic has live coverage of the college football transfer portal window.
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin still has a ReliaQuest Bowl appearance to make on Jan. 1 against LSU before the season ends. But there is already great intrigue about the future because another season has begun: portal season.
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The Badgers figure to be quite active in the transfer portal in an effort to upgrade talent and build depth at multiple positions. Wisconsin landed its first portal addition Sunday night when Syracuse outside linebacker transfer Leon Lowery announced his commitment to the Badgers after a campus visit.
At the same time, members of the current team likely will be moving on to explore different opportunities during the portal window, which officially runs from Monday until Jan. 2, 2024. Two scholarship Wisconsin players — center Dylan Barrett and quarterback Myles Burkett — already expressed their intent to transfer, as has walk-on outside linebacker Ross Gengler.
Badgers coach Luke Fickell recognizes there is much work to be done for his staff.
“I think it’s a little bit different now knowing what we know after being here a year,” Fickell said Sunday night. “I think there is an opportunity for us to create some more competition. I think that’s probably as much as anything is we’ve got to find ways to challenge our guys to create the competition. And if that means sometimes through the transfer portal, I think that sometimes is a little bit better in creating competitions because young guys are young guys.
“But I think that’s where we are right now. Obviously, there are some spots based on guys that leave that you know you’ve got to fill some of those shoes. But you’re still trying to figure that out, too, of exactly who you’re going to have back, exactly who you’re going to have for the bowl game. But there’s definitely some targets. There’s a way for us to beef up some of the spots where we feel like we need some help.”
Here’s a position-by-position look at where things stand for Wisconsin (before more players presumably opt to transfer) and whether the Badgers might seek portal help.
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Quarterback
Burkett’s decision to leave opens the door for Wisconsin to potentially add a portal quarterback. The Badgers are losing Tanner Mordecai after this season and bringing in 2024 commit Mabrey Mettauer. Without Burkett, Wisconsin has four scholarship quarterbacks for next season: Braedyn Locke, Nick Evers, Cole LaCrue and Mettauer.
Locke is the only one of those players with experience, and he has three starts to his name. None of those players will be older than a redshirt sophomore. Several veterans already are headed to the portal who could add value to the program. Will Howard, a graduate transfer from Kansas State, is a player whom Fickell and his staff once offered at Cincinnati.
Running back
We now know that Braelon Allen is headed to the NFL Draft, which does not come as a surprise considering his goals at the start of the season. A key question is what Chez Mellusi will decide to do. Mellusi returned for a fifth season but suffered a broken left leg in the team’s fourth game, which gives him an opportunity to use a medical redshirt season and come back if he wants. Mellusi was not among the seniors honored during senior day festivities.
Wisconsin’s other returning scholarship running backs are set to be Jackson Acker, Cade Yacamelli and Nate White. However, the Badgers have commitments from three running backs in the 2024 class, which could limit the need to explore the portal. Dilin Jones and Darrion Dupree are four-star prospects, and three-star prospect Gideon Ituka is set to be an early enrollee. The talent and opportunity are there for a true freshman to play next season.
Wide receiver
Chimere Dike, a senior this season, opted to enter the transfer portal Monday morning as a graduate transfer. Skyler Bell soon followed to the portal. Their decisions to move on give Wisconsin nine scholarship players for next season — as of Monday — because Keontez Lewis opted to transfer earlier this season and Kyan Berry-Johnson is the lone wide receiver commitment in the 2024 class. Wisconsin is also dealing with the potential loss of receivers coach Mike Brown, who The Athletic’s Pete Sampson confirmed is expected to be hired at Notre Dame.
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Wisconsin should be a player at wide receiver in the portal, particularly for some bigger-bodied outside receivers because the Badgers have slot pass-catchers such as Will Pauling, Trech Kekahuna and Berry-Johnson. Jaden Richardson, a wide receiver at Division III Tufts University, is a graduate transfer in the portal and tweeted Nov. 27 that he had earned an offer from Wisconsin. Richardson, who is 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, led his team with 46 catches for 830 yards and 13 touchdowns this past season.
Thank You, Wisconsin❤️ I will be entering the transfer portal as a graduate transfer for my final year of eligibility. pic.twitter.com/Y4NnjJG6Jh
— Chimere Dike (@chimdk11) December 4, 2023
Tight end
Wisconsin needs more dynamic tight ends in its offense. The good news for the Badgers is that they pulled in one of the top high school tight ends in the 2024 class with four-star commit Grant Stec. Still, it feels like there is more work to be done. Hayden Rucci is a fifth-year senior, though he has the option of using another year because of the pandemic in 2020. Cam Large hasn’t played the past two seasons after suffering a serious right-leg injury in 2021 and Jack Pugh missed this season due to personal reasons. A transfer portal tight end would make a lot of sense.
Offensive line
The O-line situation is interesting. Michael Furtney uses up his eligibility after this season, Jack Nelson and Tanor Bortolini could be candidates to consider the NFL Draft and reserve Dylan Barrett already has announced he’ll be transferring. But with five offensive linemen committed in the 2024 class, there may not be much wiggle room to add more scholarship players in the group unless more Badgers choose to move on.
Jake Renfro, Joe Huber, Trey Wedig and Riley Mahlman could be key next season if all are healthy and still with the program. Wisconsin is set to add four-star 2024 linemen Kevin Heywood and Emerson Mandell, as well as three-star prospects Derek Jensen, Colin Cubberly and Ryan Cory.
Defensive line
Perhaps no position group needs more help than Wisconsin’s defensive line following a largely underwhelming year. Rodas Johnson, Isaiah Mullens, Gio Paez and Isaac Townsend were honored on senior day. The Badgers have two defensive linemen committed in 2024 with Dillan Johnson and Hank Weber.
If Wisconsin can pull off a late recruiting win by landing four-star defensive lineman Ernest Willor Jr. in the 2024 class, it would be a major accomplishment. Willor, from Towson, Md., is coming off an official visit to Wisconsin over the weekend and has two more visits lined up to Ohio State and Maryland over the next two weekends. Wisconsin offered Penn transfer Joey Slackman two weeks ago, and Slackman visited campus this weekend. He recorded 50 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and four sacks this season. Slackman’s offer list since entering the portal is massive, so his potential addition would be significant for Wisconsin.
Honored to receive an offer from the University of Wisconsin! pic.twitter.com/SRaA4JHyV0
— Joey Slackman (@JoeySlackman) November 21, 2023
Inside linebacker
Wisconsin is set to lose Maema Njongmeta and Tatum Grass and has one inside linebacker committed in the 2024 class with Landon Gauthier. Jordan Turner and Jake Chaney could return as starters, with less experienced players such as Bryan Sanborn, Aidan Vaughan, Tyler Jansey and Christian Alliegro challenging for snaps (Alliegro was recruited at outside linebacker but listed late in the season at inside linebacker). This is yet another position that could benefit from portal explorations.
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Outside linebacker
Wisconsin has two outside linebackers coming in as early enrollees with Anelu Lafaele and Thomas Heiberger and is set to lose C.J. Goetz. But the addition of Lowery is a big one for Wisconsin. He recorded 46 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss this season at Syracuse. Darryl Peterson, who has played 497 snaps this season per Pro Football Focus, is the most productive returning player at the position. Jeff Pietrowski (260 snaps) and Kaden Johnson (35 snaps) are the others with playing experience this season.
Perhaps Aaron Witt can be a contributor for the first time since late in the 2020 season. T.J. Bollers and Jordan Mayer are the other scholarship outside linebackers currently on the roster. Wisconsin is set to host edge rusher Riley Tolsma, a Division II transfer from Hillsdale College in Michigan. Tolsma tallied 50 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks this season.
Super excited to take my official visit to @BadgerFootball next weekend!! pic.twitter.com/SHNCkOzVcZ
— Riley Tolsma (@Riley_Tolsma) November 28, 2023
Cornerback
The Badgers lose Alexander Smith and Jason Maitre from a unit that will look much different next season. Air Force transfer Michael Mack II will be eligible after having his immediate eligibility waiver claim denied in 2023. Wisconsin has commitments from cornerbacks Omillio Agard, Jay Harper and Xavier Lucas, though Lucas has visited Miami and Florida State since pledging to the Badgers in August. Given that Wisconsin had five freshman corners in the 2023 class and that Ricardo Hallman and Nyzier Fourqurean return, there may not be much room to add through the portal.
Safety
The only known scholarship departure at this point is senior Travian Blaylock, who is moving on after the season. If the rest of the roster holds, that’s a pretty good returning group that includes Hunter Wohler, Preston Zachman, Kamo’i Latu and Austin Brown.
Wohler, the team’s leading tackler, said Sunday night that he has had discussions with his family and coaches about his potential NFL future but has yet to make a decision. Braedyn Moore will be a redshirt freshman, while 2024 safety commits Raphael Dunn and Kahmir Prescott join the program.
Special teams
Wisconsin already has devoted a pair of special teams scholarships to kicker Nathanial Vakos and punter Atticus Bertrams. Vakos will be a junior next season and Bertrams a sophomore, so there doesn’t appear to be much room for movement. Vakos has been excellent this season, connecting on 14 of 17 field goal tries and all 30 extra points. Bertrams has punted 58 times while averaging 41.8 yards per attempt.
(Photo: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)
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