The Biggest Concern Nobody is Talking About for Wisconsin Football

And it's not the wide receiver or outside linebacker rooms.

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

With the unofficial start of Big Ten football season (Media Days) just over a week away, we're still in the most optimistic time of the college football calendar.

Every program in America has reason to believe right now. However misplaced that belief may be doesn't matter; it's still only July.

There's certainly reasons for optimism in Madison as well as reasons to pump the breaks on any 2026 Badgers hype. But even though Wisconsin is still largely ignored on a national scale, most signs point to the Badgers improving on their dreadful 4-8 campaign last fall.

There's a few concrete reasons why most expect Wisconsin to put forth a better record in 2026, namely a significantly easier schedule and a robust incoming transfer portal class.

And I absolutely agree; a much lighter slate that doesn't feature a third of the College Football Playoff teams will certainly be advantageous. As will a loaded and intriguing transfer class that should help the Badgers plug a few of their biggest holes immediately.

However, there's one concern I keep coming back to with the latter: what if Wisconsin whiffed on most of its portal signees again?

Fickell's unspectacular transfer portal record

Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell talls with injured quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The first transfer portal class head coach Luke Fickell brought to Madison, which featured the likes of Will Pauling, Jake Renfro, Tanner Mordecai and Nyzier Fourqurean was actually very solid. It was also much smaller; that was a 14-man portal class.

Flash forward to 2026, and Wisconsin is up to 33 incoming transfers. After seeing a mass exodus into the portal following their worst season since the early 1990s, the Badgers were forced to go heavy in the portal once again this offseason.

There appear to be several plug-and-play starters like the aforementioned ones from Fickell's first wave of transfers. Old Dominion quarterback Colton Joseph is the obvious one. Iowa State tailback Abu Sama is another. Missouri safety Marvin Burks, Arizona State cornerback Javan Robinson and Oklahoma State center Austin Kawecki are more incoming portal players that have been all but penciled into starting roles.

On paper, those are good players. On film, those are good players. But will it all click in Madison? That's the million dollar question.

Last offseason, Wisconsin signed 22 transfers. But aside from edge rusher Mason Reiger and tight end Lance Mason, who really hit in that portal class?

A few defensive linemen, Parker Petersen and Jay'Viarr Suggs, were nice adds. There's a few more exceptions. But that isn't the point. The vast majority of this class made little to no impact last fall — that's a problem, and a big reason why Wisconsin's roster left so much to be desired in 2025.

It's not even just the high profile misses, like former tight end Tanner Koziol or wide receiver Mark Hamper, both of whom left the team after spring ball. It's the players that ended up being depth options or playing a dozen snaps in their final year of eligibility. With no disrespect intended to any of those players individually, misses like that are a waste of time, money and a roster spot. With how loaded the Big Ten is now, the Badgers simply cannot afford to populate their roster with that many inconsequential transfers.

Again, I see players like Joseph, Sama, Burks, Kawecki and others finding immediate roles as plug-and-play starters. This year could be different. But Fickell's transfer portal whiff rate needs to improve if the Badgers are going to turn things around.