How has Wisconsin's roster makeup shifted? In-state numbers reach new low

MADISON, Wis. — There was plenty of discussion entering Gary Andersen’s second season at Wisconsin in 2014 about how he had expanded the program’s recruiting reach and concern about how it might impact efforts in the state. Yet, in reality, it was still a team built around Wisconsin players.

Consider that Wisconsin’s roster that season featured 58 in-state players, 30 of whom were on scholarship with 28 walk-ons. Seven offensive starters and five backups in the two-deep were from Wisconsin, as were six defensive starters and six more backups — many of whom were holdovers from the previous regime.

That Wisconsin team went on to win the Big Ten West behind Doak Walker Award winner and in-state running back Melvin Gordon. Andersen, of course, would stunningly leave the program for Oregon State after a forgettable blowout loss to Ohio State in the conference title game. Wisconsin finished 11-3 with an Outback Bowl victory under interim coach and athletic director Barry Alvarez, who famously built a wall around the state in establishing the program’s upward trajectory.

There is no one way to construct a roster. But comparing Andersen’s second season and Luke Fickell’s second season at Wisconsin a decade apart offers an interesting juxtaposition of the changing landscape of the sport and how the Badgers adapt.

The Athletic examined the rosters of the past 15 Wisconsin seasons to better understand trends and changes. This season, Wisconsin’s roster consists of 37 in-state players — the lowest mark over the past 15 seasons — with 16 scholarship players and 21 walk-ons. Three starters and three backups on offense are from the state, with two starters and two backups on defense from Wisconsin. From 2010-2022, Wisconsin never had fewer than 47 in-state players on the roster and reached a high of 60 during Andersen’s first season in 2013. That number dipped to 42 in Fickell’s first season.

Fickell has made it clear that retaining in-state talent remains a priority, as evidenced by six in-state players committed in the 2025 class. But a variety of factors appear to be at play for the roster shift, including the volume of high-level in-state talent available during a given recruiting cycle, the challenges of keeping those players at home, the number of walk-ons joining the program, coaches with recruiting expertise in different regions and — perhaps most noticeable — the impact of the transfer portal.

Ten years ago, the portal (and NIL opportunities) didn’t exist, making it easier to build a roster and retain players given that transferring meant having to sit out for a year. The NCAA first introduced the transfer portal in October 2018. In April 2021, players were granted a one-time transfer exemption, which meant they didn’t have to sit out a year. Now, there is no limit to the number of times a player can transfer without penalty.

As a result, Wisconsin’s roster looks dramatically different. It consists of 28 transfers, 25 of whom were added since Fickell was hired. Only one of those players — walk-on offensive lineman Joey Okla — is from Wisconsin. The Badgers also lost nine in-state players to the transfer portal over the past two offseasons: walk-on offensive lineman Drew Evans (Indiana), walk-on linebacker Ross Gengler (UW-La Crosse), walk-on offensive lineman Zack Mlsna (UW-La Crosse), walk-on defensive end Tommy Brunner (Western Illinois), walk-on cornerback Amaun Williams (Concordia-St. Paul), running back Julius Davis (Montana State), quarterback Myles Burkett (Albany), wide receiver Chimere Dike (Florida) and offensive lineman Trey Wedig (Indiana). All of those players other than Dike either were backups or reserves who didn’t play.

Wisconsin seems to be adversely impacted by its in-state roster changes in a way that some competitors are not. Five of the six other former Big Ten West teams have more in-state players on their roster now than they did 10 years ago. Iowa lists 56 players from the state on its roster compared with 41 in 2014. Illinois has 55 compared with 45 a decade ago. Nebraska has 58 and had 54 in 2014. Purdue and Northwestern also have more players from Indiana and Illinois, respectively. Only Minnesota, which has 35 in-state players, has fewer than it did 10 years ago when it had 43.

Building a roster on the strength of in-state talent out of high school has proven to be more challenging than ever for Wisconsin. Wisconsin didn’t land three of the top four players in the 2022 class, offered just one prospect in a weak 2023 class, didn’t sign the top four players in 2024 and has a commitment from just one of the top four players in 2025 (though, again, the Badgers do have a half-dozen in-state commits).

Complicating matters in the future is the fact that every FBS roster will be limited to 105 players beginning next season, down 23 players from the average roster size in 2022. As part of the House vs. NCAA settlement, schools can offer 105 scholarships instead of 85 but will have a 105-player roster cap. That means the era of the walk-on — which has been a staple at Wisconsin since Alvarez was hired in 1990 — could be nearing an end.

Fickell said during the preseason that Wisconsin was “not going to lose some of the historic things that we’ve had here” in reference to walk-ons but wasn’t sure exactly what that would look like with the roster cap. In-state players might not be mandatory to win games, but in years past there was something to be said for a large faction of the Badgers’ roster maintaining a loyalty to and appreciation for the program. Some of the most impactful players began their careers as walk-ons. Two of Andersen’s top linebackers in 2014, Marcus Trotter and Joe Schobert, came to Wisconsin as in-state walk-ons, as did top receiver Alex Erickson, quarterback Joel Stave and running back Dare Ogunbowale, among others.

Fickell’s staff is short on people with ties to the state, although that isn’t necessarily a reason the numbers have decreased. He does have Wisconsin native and former Badger Casey Rabach working as an assistant offensive line coach and in-state native Eric Raisbeck serving as an assistant special teams coordinator.

Over time, the top five states that the Badgers have drawn players from has not changed. From 2010-2024, a player from Wisconsin was listed on a given roster 774 times. Ohio was second at 135 times, followed by Illinois (132), Florida (125) and Minnesota (67). Those were the five most represented states on both Andersen’s second roster and Fickell’s second roster. But the overall breadth of the roster has changed.

Wisconsin’s roster this season could be an indication of where things are headed. It includes players from 28 states, as well as Australian punter Atticus Bertrams. That is the most states represented in any of the last 15 seasons, with the portal serving as a significant reason why.

Oklahoma transfer running back Tawee Walker, originally from Nevada, and USC transfer inside linebacker Tackett Curtis, a Louisiana native, are the only players from their states in the last 15 years to play at Wisconsin. William & Mary transfer outside linebacker John Pius is just the third player in that time who hails from Virginia, joining graduate transfer quarterback Russell Wilson and junior college transfer cornerback T.J. Reynard.

As a means of comparison, Wisconsin’s 2010 roster under Bret Bielema featured players from 17 states, as well as Washington, D.C. Andersen’s 2013 roster had players from 15 states, and his 2014 roster had players from 18 states. Paul Chryst’s first roster in 2015 had players from 19 states, and his final roster in 2022 included players from 22 states.

Wisconsin’s coaching staff has been able to branch out to other states it rarely recruits at the high school level, bringing in the first South Dakota prospect in the past 15 years (outside linebacker Thomas Heiberger) and a rare Washington prospect (tight end Tucker Ashcraft). There are five Pennsylvania players on the roster this season, the most in the last 15 years.

Fickell famously said when he was hired at Wisconsin that “the core and the crux” of recruiting efforts would mirror his time at Cincinnati by focusing on a 300-mile radius from campus — a number he later lengthened to 350 miles. And then just eight of the 22 scholarship signees in his first full recruiting class in 2024 fell within those parameters, highlighting to him the national reach Wisconsin could have.

It has become increasingly clear that, while keeping key prospects close to home remains important, the landscape continues to drastically change. Wisconsin must figure out how to build a program and win games while navigating new territory under Fickell.

(Photo: Jeff Hanisch / Imagn Images)