MADISON, Wis. — James Durand arrived at Wisconsin with the type of high school resume that suggested he could represent one of the foundational pieces to the offensive line from Luke Fickell’s first Badgers recruiting class in 2023. He was the only scholarship O-lineman, a four-star prospect whose athleticism on the interior aligned with the offensive style Fickell wanted to bring to Madison.
But two seasons into his college career, Durand had appeared in just one game for three snaps at left guard in a blowout victory against Purdue. When he evaluated his role, he saw that the wait for playing time might continue with six upperclassmen returning, including starting left guard Joe Brunner, starting center Jake Renfro and 10 scholarship offensive linemen signed in the two classes behind him. As a result, Durand announced he would enter the transfer portal with three years of eligibility remaining.
“You want to get your foot in the door pretty early no matter where you are,” Durand said. “You have to develop early and fast, and it’s super important that in the first two years, you’re getting to see some of the work you’re putting in developing you as a person and a football player. It was going to be the best opportunity and best choice for me to go somewhere else where I was going to get to play starting next year, which is important.”
Durand’s plight — and that of the vast majority of Wisconsin’s now-decimated 2023 class — speaks to the challenge Fickell faces in the transfer portal era. For as much as he’d like to develop players, he also risks losing them at a time when leaving is easier than ever.
Of the 15 scholarship signees in Fickell’s first class at Wisconsin, only four remain on the roster: defensive lineman Jamel Howard, tight end Tucker Ashcraft and inside linebackers Tyler Jansey and Christian Alliegro. None of the top eight 247Sports Composite players in the class are on the team anymore.
“You’ve got to rely upon young guys a lot more,” Fickell said. “And whether that’s in every program or not, what we’re seeing in the trend will continue. Those second-year guys, one of two things, they either can’t play maybe at that point in time there or don’t see themselves playing there, aren’t the ones that you still have.
“So, to me, I see 25, 30 guys you’ve got to bring in every year, high school guys, and you’ve got to get them to trust and believe and be able to develop them and get them on the field at an earlier age.”
Two players in the class, outside linebacker Jordan Mayer (Penn State) and cornerback A.J. Tisdell (Incarnate Word), transferred out before last season. The other nine transfer portal departures have come in the last month, with eight since the end of the season. Those players are quarterback Cole LaCrue, cornerbacks Amare Snowden, Jonas Duclona and Jace Arnold, safeties Justin Taylor and Braedyn Moore, wide receivers Trech Kekahuna and Nate White and Durand.
Wisconsin’s 2023 class was a transitional one that included holdovers from the previous coaching staff because Fickell was hired 23 days before the early signing period. The class ranked 58th nationally in the 247Sports Composite and 12th among the 14 Big Ten teams, in part because of the small number and four de-commitments. But three defensive backs — Moore, Snowden and Duclona — followed Fickell from Cincinnati to Wisconsin. Moore and Snowden were four-star prospects. Kekahuna de-committed after Paul Chryst was fired but returned to Wisconsin in the final days when Fickell and his staff pursued him.
There are a variety of reasons why a player will leave — playing time, NIL opportunities, program fit, among them — and every situation is different, whether it’s driven by players or the coaching staff. But, of the five portal entrants from the class who spoke with The Athletic, the overarching theme was a lack of playing time and frustration with how to create more opportunities for themselves in the future.
From the group of players to transfer out, Kekahuna (316 snaps) was the only one to play more than 12 offensive or defensive snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Duclona played 12 defensive snaps, Arnold 11, Moore 10, Taylor 4 and Snowden 3. Durand’s three snaps on offense were three more than either White or LaCrue earned.
LaCrue was the first of the nine players to leave the program in mid-November, returning home to Colorado to train and finish his online classes for the semester. He committed to Wisconsin in November 2022, just weeks before Fickell was hired and brought in offensive coordinator Phil Longo. Wisconsin immediately added three transfer portal quarterbacks in the first offseason under a new staff. LaCrue was recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum sustained in high school and struggled to find a spot in the pecking order upon his return.
“To be honest with you, I was frustrated,” LaCrue said. “Because we’d go to mini-field situations in practice. I’d go down and run the scout against the starting defense. I felt like I was doing everything I can. It just seemed whatever I was doing, Longo looked the other way because it made his guy look bad.
“You could definitely see how I just kind of got screwed. I felt like I never had that opportunity, no matter how much time in the film room I was doing. I just never got the respect I was due because Longo preached knowledge equals reps.”
Snowden announced his departure two days after the season ended and voiced his displeasure with what he perceived to be a lack of relationship with cornerbacks coach Paul Haynes. That opinion of Haynes was not universally shared by players in the room. Arnold, who also left, said his relationship with Haynes “was pretty solid.” The fact both players were passed by true freshman cornerback Xavier Lucas, who elevated into a reserve role and played 203 snaps last season, undeniably was a factor in moving on.
“I went from ‘he’s our guy after Nyzier Fourqurean’ to Xavier Lucas passing me,” Snowden said. “Xavier Lucas is a phenomenal player. But don’t lie to me, bro. Be real. And turn on the film, too. I’d see if I wasn’t making plays or doing what I was supposed to do, having good grades, being at stuff on time. Xavier is his guy. That’s not X’s fault. X is my brother, man. But some guys have their guys and I wasn’t one of Paul Haynes’ guys and that led to my decision.”
As Arnold put it: “When you have a lot of senior guys and a lot of other guys getting different opportunities that you didn’t get yourself, it’s kind of hard to just sit back.”
Kekahuna, meanwhile, left despite playing more than any other outgoing transfer in his recruiting class because he wanted a bigger role in the offense. He said he had conversations with Fickell after the season ended and was told he would be on the field more under a new offensive coordinator as one of the team’s better wide receivers. But Kekahuna already made up his mind because he didn’t like the direction the offense was headed.
“Every time I touch the ball, I make the play,” Kekahuna said. “My opportunities were limited. I wanted a fresh start somewhere. I know wherever I go, I will play and start.”
Moore, Taylor, Duclona and White did not respond to requests for comment on their decisions.
Players leaving a program generally do so because they’re not satisfied with their roles. But that doesn’t mean those seeking transfers don’t believe in Fickell’s vision for Wisconsin. LaCrue, Snowden, Arnold and Durand expressed support for Fickell and what he can do for the Badgers. LaCrue called him “a great coach” whose knowledge and leadership stood out.
“I wholeheartedly believe and I’ll root for Wisconsin and coach Fickell until the wheels fall off,” Snowden said. “The man wins. He went to the College Football Playoff. He got first-rounders. His wrestling record alone tells you he wins. So just trust in that.”
Despite the mass exodus, Wisconsin has 19 247Sports Composite four-star prospects in its 2024 and 2025 classes. Those players could form the backbone of the future for the Badgers. But the 2023 recruiting class at least serves as a cautionary tale about what can happen in the transfer portal era when expectations aren’t met quickly enough.
“If you’re really counting on a ton of freshmen, it’s not going to be the easiest thing in the world,” Fickell said. “But I do think that where we’re headed in college, it’s almost closer towards the NFL. You’re going to have to rely upon these guys.”
(Photo of Trech Kekahuna: Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA Today via Imagn Images)
