MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s transfer portal needs were numerous when the portal window opened Monday. And with 17 scholarship players on their way out of the program via the portal by midweek, it meant the Badgers would have no shortage of available opportunities to offer.
The question became: What exactly was Wisconsin looking for, and where would those players come from? While the process of reaching out to prospects and scheduling visits is ongoing, the early stage of the portal window has proven to be revealing.
For example, Wisconsin has continued its trend under Luke Fickell of attempting to find productive players from lower levels. That may be, at least in part, because some command less of a premium on the name, image and likeness market. But it’s in line with a philosophy Fickell values.
“I like guys that maybe in some ways are, ‘Hey, I want to take this challenge to go to a different level, to put myself in a different position, get out of my comfort zone,’” Fickell said last December. “Yes, I love that.
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“We’ve been very fortunate even when we were at Cincinnati to have a lot of success with guys in some ways looked at as they were taking another step. We had guys come from Rhode Island. We had guys come from the MAC that were incredibly successful for us. I think it’s just the way that they came in and the attitude that they had and the way they fit.”
Wisconsin already has offered a handful of players from the FCS or Division II levels, including Elon defensive linemen Cazeem Moore and Chuck Nnaeto, Northwest Missouri State defensive lineman Langden Kitchen, Appalachian State defensive lineman Joshua Donald, Chattanooga linebacker Alex Mitchell, Rhode Island linebacker A.J. Pena, Appalachian State linebacker Nathan Johnson and Richmond safety Matthew Traynor, among others.
The window to enter the portal doesn’t close until Dec. 28, and offseason workouts don’t begin at Wisconsin until mid-January. Here’s more of what we’ve learned about Wisconsin’s portal approach during the first week of the portal window:
Where do things stand at QB?
Wisconsin has kept its pursuit of a portal quarterback close to the vest, but there figure to be at least a few names the Badgers are exploring. Among them are Cal’s Fernando Mendoza, SMU’s Preston Stone, Alabama’s Dylan Lonergan and San Diego State’s Danny O’Neil. On3’s Steve Wiltfong reported O’Neil has a Wisconsin offer and is slated to visit Madison this weekend. O’Neil completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 2,181 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions this season. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
The Athletic’s Manny Navarro reported Wisconsin is one of the schools that has reached out to Mendoza, along with Indiana, UCLA, Oregon State and Northwestern, among many others. His high school coach at Miami Columbus said he wasn’t close to deciding his next school since he just entered the portal Wednesday.
Mendoza’s younger brother, Alberto, is a backup quarterback at Indiana. Fernando Mendoza completed 68.7 percent of his passes for 3,004 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions at Cal. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining and is one of the top portal quarterbacks available.
The Badgers may pursue a pair of portal quarterbacks — one a veteran who could start immediately and one who can develop. Three quarterbacks from the roster last season have entered the transfer portal: Cole LaCrue, Tyler Van Dyke and Braedyn Locke. Wisconsin has just three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster with redshirt freshman Mabrey Mettauer and incoming freshman early enrollees Carter Smith and Landyn Locke, who is coming off a torn ACL injury. Mettauer played 16 snaps this season.
WR a priority
Wisconsin is pursuing a big-bodied receiver on the outside to complement its returning core of playmakers. At least six receivers have announced receiving an offer from Wisconsin in the first few portal days: Tre Spivey (6-foot-4, 217 pounds, Kansas State), Chase Sowell (6-4, 195, East Carolina), Harvey Broussard (6-3, 183, Louisiana), Nyziah Hunter (6-2, 210, Cal), Caleb Goodie (6-1, 170, Colorado State) and Javon Tracy (6-0, 206, Miami (Ohio). On3’s Pete Nakos reported JJ Harrell (6-1, 195, Mississippi State), a four-star prospect in the 2024 class, is slated to visit Wisconsin.
Wisconsin’s biggest pickup at receiver this offseason may simply be retaining Trech Kekahuna, who entered the portal but withdrew Wednesday night in announcing his decision to return to the Badgers. Kekahuna ranked third on the team in catches (25), receiving yards (339) and touchdown catches (two) in 2024. That means Wisconsin brings back its top four pass catchers by receiving yards: Vinny Anthony, Will Pauling, Kekahuna and C.J. Williams. Those four players combined to catch 122 passes for 1,666 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Upon entering the portal, Kekahuna said he was frustrated because “my opportunities were limited.” According to Pro Football Focus, he was targeted 46 times, the third-most on the team. He played a season-high 39 offensive snaps in the regular-season finale against Minnesota.
Kekahuna, a Hawaii native, posted about earning offers from 15 programs, including Minnesota, Arizona and Hawaii, before returning to Wisconsin. It’s certainly possible a potential portal addition would push for starting snaps. But with Kekahuna back in the fold, the receiver group is in better shape.
Busy in secondary
Wisconsin needs veteran help in the secondary at cornerback and safety. Three-year starting cornerback Ricardo Hallman has yet to publicly announce whether he’ll pursue the NFL draft. Max Lofy was honored on senior day but has another year of eligibility. The only other cornerback with any experience is Xavier Lucas, who played 203 snaps as a true freshman. Three cornerbacks have entered the portal this offseason: Amare Snowden, Jonas Duclona and Jace Arnold.
Wisconsin offered Miami (Ohio) cornerback Raion Strader, Utah cornerback Cameron Calhoun and Charlotte’s Elijah Culp, among others. Strader was a first-team All-MAC performer who recorded two interceptions and 17 pass breakups in 2024. Calhoun tallied an interception and nine pass breakups in 2024, while Culp had 29 tackles and an interception.
Wisconsin’s safety group is thin following the portal departures of Braedyn Moore and Justin Taylor. The Badgers are set to have at least three visitors who play safety: Traynor, Northern Illinois’ Santana Banner and South Florida’s Tawfiq Byard. Banner said he will visit four programs — Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Missouri and Wisconsin — because he believes they have defensive schemes that fit him. He intends to have all his visits completed by Tuesday. He said he heard from more than 20 programs. Banner, who has three years of eligibility remaining, finished this season with 54 tackles, four pass breakups and one interception.
“I’m not an offer chaser, and that’s why I don’t post them,” Banner said. “I just want to play football for a great school and coach. I’m more blue collar when it comes to my approach.”
Looking for depth up front
There’s no question that, outside of quarterback, finding defensive line help through the portal is one of Wisconsin’s most important objectives this offseason. Wisconsin lost three players to the portal (James Thompson Jr., Curt Neal and Hank Weber) and has just seven scholarship defensive linemen on the roster.
Wisconsin has responded accordingly, handing out a slew of offers. That includes Cazeem Moore, Nnaeto, Kitchen, Donald, Western Michigan’s Corey Walker, Louisiana Tech’s David Blay and, according to Chris Hummer of 247Sports, Tulane’s Parker Petersen. Western Kentucky’s Hosea Wheeler, a first-team All-Conference USA selection, arrived for a visit to Wisconsin on Thursday after visiting Indiana.
Donald said he had heard from roughly 20 programs and was attempting to put together the list of programs he wants to visit. Other programs he’s considering include NC State, Nebraska, Iowa, Rutgers, Tulane, ECU and UTSA. But Wisconsin could be a contender with defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow.
“I love the program,” Donald said. “I love Coach Whit and his development program with NFL players, and I feel like it would be a great fit for my style of play. He said he’s looking for aggressive D-linemen, somebody who can get the job done and somebody with great hands.”
Wisconsin wants more impactful edge rushers and linebackers and is pursuing Pena, Johnson, Mitchell, Louisville’s Mason Reiger, Ohio State’s Gabe Powers and Nebraska’s Mikai Gbayor, among others.
Tight end upgrade?
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported former Ball State tight end Tanner Koziol was expected to visit Houston and then Wisconsin. Although the Badgers are set to have seven scholarship tight ends on the roster, there is limited productivity. Tucker Ashcraft caught 12 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown in 2024, while JT Seagreaves caught four passes for 44 yards. Riley Nowakowski, who appeared in 40 career games, entered the portal.
Koziol is one of the top tight ends available in the portal after catching 94 passes for 839 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024. His 7.8 receptions per game ranked fourth in the country.
(Top photo of Luke Fickell: Quinn Harris / Getty Images)
