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Wisconsin Badgers announce transfer portal class, without backup QB who was previously reported

Multiple reports had the Wisconsin Badgers adding backup QB Deuce Adams in the transfer portal, but he wasn't included in a formal announcement from the school.
Lorin Cox|
Former Louisville Cardinals quarterback Deuce Adams (13) reportedly committed to the Wisconsin Badgers in the transfer portal two weeks ago, but it hasn't been formally announced yet.
Former Louisville Cardinals quarterback Deuce Adams (13) reportedly committed to the Wisconsin Badgers in the transfer portal two weeks ago, but it hasn't been formally announced yet. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers formally announced their massive transfer portal class from this winter on Wednesday at a press conference with Luke Fickell, but one name was missing from the list.

33 players were reported as committing to the Badgers in the portal by various media outlets, but Wisconsin has only formally announced 32 of them.

On3's national recruiting reporter Hayes Fawcett and others reported on January 8 that former Louisville quarterback Deuce Adams committed to Wisconsin in the portal.

Almost two weeks later, that signing has yet to be made official.

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Adams himself reposted the report from Fawcett on his own X (formerly Twitter) account, seeming to acknowledge the move as legitimate.

He was going to be brought in to be the backup to the bigger-name transfer portal quarterback the Badgers signed first: Colton Joseph.

The athletic department's own media parter, Badger Connect, even did a story about Adams and what he would bring to the program.

That looked to be an unofficial confirmation of the quarterback's commitment, but that article was more than a week ago and still no official announcement has come.

This doesn't necessarily mean that Adams has changed his mind or the commitment fell through. It's possible that they hit a snag in negotiating the terms of his agreement and are still working through what that's going to look like.

Related: Badgers linebacker surprisingly returns to Wisconsin for seventh collegiate season

In all likelihood, Wisconsin will probably announce his signing officially in the coming days, but the lack of clarity leaves plenty of unanswered questions.

It stands out because Luke Fickell has already begun offseason meetings and workouts with the team, and classes have already begun for the spring semester on campus that Adams and all the other transfers have to enroll in.

He is expected to compete with redshirt freshman Carter Smith to be the No. 2 QB behind Joseph, as last year's backup Danny O'Neil is still recovering from a serious Achillies injury that could limit his availability this season.

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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.

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