All Badgers

Luke Fickell's request for 'blind faith' not keeping Wisconsin Badgers WRs out of transfer portal

Luke Fickell said Wisconsin Badgers wide receivers need to have some "blind faith" in the offense turning around next season. Four of them have opted for the transfer portal instead.
Lorin Cox|
Oct 18, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell during the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium.
Oct 18, 2025; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell during the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

In this story:

Wisconsin Badgers

Luke Fickell knows the Wisconsin Badgers' offensive struggles from this season are a tough selling point, especially for receivers and play-makers.

When asked about how he can convince players to want to come be a part of the offense, he said injuries at the quarterback position and along the offensive line are a big part of what held them back.

"There's a reality to the things that we did and how we had to go about them, but we've got to fix that," Fickell said after early national signing day. "I know that seeing is believing, but there is some blind faith in the things that some of these guys have got to believe in."

That request for belief and "blind faith" doesn't seem to be resonating with the wide receivers already in the building.

On Monday, true freshman Eugene Hilton became the fourth Wisconsin receiver to announce his intentions to enter the transfer portal this winter, joining starter Trech Kekahuna and backups Kyan Berry-Johnson and Joseph Griffin.

Their potential departures would leave the Badgers with just two returning scholarship wide receivers: seniors Chris Brooks Jr. and Tyrell Henry. And they still have time to decide whether to enter the portal as well.

To his credit, Fickell was able to convince two incoming freshmen wide receivers in the 2026 recruiting class to have the necessary belief in the program.

Sign Up For the Wisconsin Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Wisconsin Badgers Newsletter

But the "blind faith" argument starts to lose its strength when the head coach keeps making the same request over and over without the results to reward that belief.

Fickell first asked for "blind faith" when he took over as head coach in November of 2022, talking about how the roster he inherited would have to trust him as they got to know him.

Then in 2024, when the team collapsed down the stretch, Fickell again said that his players needed to have some "blind faith" that thing would get better.

He referenced "blind faith" again during spring practices in April, asking players to trust the offense as it came together under new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes.

They didn't get better in 2025. That "blind faith" didn't get them anywhere. So it becomes a lot harder for players to buy into that request for a third time when they still haven't had the results to show for it.

It puts all of the pressure on Fickell to rebuild his wide receiver corps completely through the transfer portal.

He's going to need those outside veteran receivers to have more "blind faith" than the play-makers who were in his locker room for multiple seasons.

More Wisconsin Badgers News:

Published
Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

Home/Football