Wisconsin football's transfer class earns a top-25 national ranking

MADISON, Wis. - Changes to the recruiting calendar have combined the two transfer portals into a single 14-day sprint for college coaches to analyze, recruit, and rebuild their rosters.

With so many holes to fill, University of Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell needed to give himself and his staff a decent head start.

"It's been a really busy last two-and-a-half months," Fickell said. "A lot of work behind the scenes ... There's a lot of legwork that went into it."

In Fickell's eyes, the work was well spent. The Badgers have announced 32 players for their transfer signing class, a haul that mixes power-five starters, former high-ranking high school recruits, and mid-major or lower-division players looking to test themselves in one of the nation's toughest conferences.

Replacing more talent than they lost, the Badgers' class is ranked No.21 nationally by On3, the third best in the Big Ten.

"We did a lot of really good things," Fickell said. "Really excited about where we are and get this thing really."

Wisconsin #Badgers continue to stay active in the transfer portal. Keep up to date with info and stories on all the new transfers here ⬇️ https://t.co/F0Cp64Jxq1
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) January 7, 2026

According to its website, On3 calculates transfer portal rankings using its On3 Performance Score and a "Net Talent" index, focusing on a team's improvement in talent rather than just a sum of ratings, by comparing the production/potential of players coming in against those leaving, using performance data, scouting grades, and eligibility to create a "profit/loss" for the roster.

Basically, the rankings determine whether a school upgrades its roster, stays the same, or declines in talent during the transfer window.

Wisconsin saw one four-star player leave the program (OL Joe Brunner to Indiana) and 21 three-star players. Coupled with the graduation of players from a team that went 4-8 against a challenging schedule meant that the staff had to be aggressive and decisive for who they would target and lock in visits.

The frantic pace of Wisconsin landing multiple players for multiple consecutive days showed UW's willingness to put in the work, which Fickell said included multiple conversations with family and agents about availability and NIL packages. It allowed the program to present that to the players and get them signed before they left campus.

Those results yielded the Badgers at least one transfer addition at every position on offense and defense, not to mention adding a punter and long snapper for the special teams units that equaled one four-star player (running back Abu Sama) and 31 three-star players.

"When they get here, you have a chance to actually get them sign a contract or a letter of intent," Fickell said. "It's a far bit different than recruiting a high school kid and getting him on campus ... Sometimes if they leave, there's a million things that could happen and go wrong in a lot of those situations.

"The amount of work that's done not only just to get them to campus but before they get to campus to cut through a lot of the red tape, that's probably one of those things that nobody understands in college football, and I think we're still learning to (of) the discrpencies and differences of different types of contracts and maybe what one family or agent would want compared to another. These are things that need to be done really, really fast."

Wisconsin's transfer portal class could still change. The Badgers have yet to announce the signing of Louisville quarterback Deuce Adams and are still in contact with players who remain uncommitted in the portal.

"As of (Tuesday), we were still working at this thing because there are still some spots and some things that if you find the right one out there, you can fill," Fickell said. "For more the most part, there's not going to be a whole lot of people available after spring football, and we all know what can happen in spring ball."

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