Wisconsin Badgers' big transfer portal loss named to preseason watch list

The Wisconsin Badgers are only loosely represented on this year's John Mackey Award preseason watch list, with one of their biggest transfer portal losses getting the national recognition.

Oct 19, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Ball State Cardinals tight end Tanner Koziol (88) celebrates his touchdown with tight end Christian Abney (87) against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The Wisconsin Badgers are only loosely represented on this year's John Mackey Award preseason watch list.

Tight end Tanner Koziol was featured on the 46-player list released late last week. Now playing for Houston, Koziol transferred from Ball State to Wisconsin in December but re-entered the transfer portal during the spring window.

His departure from Madison was met with mixed reactions due to comments by Luke Fickell around the time of Koziol's portal declaration.

Fickell declined to talk about players currently on the roster entering the portal. Mentioned the big 10 being a “grown man’s league” that plays a “grown man’s game” #Badgers

— Cam Wilhorn (@CamWilhorn) April 15, 2025

One day after the Wisconsin State Journal reported Koziol could be entering the transfer portal, Fickell was made available to media.

He repeatedly described the the type of football they play in Madison and the Big Ten as "grown man's," in response to a question about players on the roster entering the portal.

Ball State didn't use Koziol frequently as a blocker, leading some to speculate that the comments by Fickell were a reference to the transfer tight end.

The Badgers added another body to the tight end room late during the spring to offset the loss of Koziol in Lance Mason from Missouri State.

But between Wisconsin's leading tight ends Mason and Tucker Ashcraft, the program didn't have a current player listed on the Mackey watch list.

Koziol was the second-highest rated TE transfer this offseason, according to On3.com. He caught 94 passes for 839 yards last year at Ball State, and it looked like WIsconsin had acquired a key component to the offense.

Mason figures to be able to replicate portions of Koziol's expected production, but he's taking a larger step up from the FCS level, where he notched 590 yards on 34 catches a season ago.

These factors put Wisconsin's tight end room under even more of a spotlight. If they fail to live up to expectations, both as receivers and blockers, fans will start questioning whether Fickell did enough to try and keep Koziol.

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