Column: One hot take on every Wisconsin football transfer portal signee
Dishing out a hot take for each player the Wisconsin Badgers lured to Madison via the transfer portal this offseason.
Try as you might — with algorithms, recruiting composite rankings, adjusted NIL value — you’ll never be able to properly gauge a program’s transfer portal class in the offseason.
We have no idea how these new pieces will fit into the respective roster puzzles at their new schools. We have no idea if players who thrived at lower levels of the sport will continue to do so at the FBS level. We have no idea if players are a good fit for their new program, schematically and personally.
Thus, given the inexactness of transfer portal science, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the top online recruiting services, 247Sports and On3, vary significantly in their assessment of the Wisconsin football program's 2026 portal class. According to 247Sports, the Badgers sit at 47th nationally, with just the 12th-best class in the Big Ten. Meanwhile, On3 ranks Wisconsin 15th in the country, including 3rd in the Big Ten.
But even when the two major recruiting websites do agree, portal success doesn’t always translate to the field. Two of last season’s biggest disappointments were consensus top-10 portal teams: North Carolina and Auburn.
The point is, don’t let big recruiting sites tell you how good a program’s transfer portal class is, because nobody really knows. Not yet.
But in the absence of an overarching, empirical method to evaluate the Badgers’ crop of portal signees, there are plenty of thoughts marinating in my mind about each transfer who put pen to paper for Wisconsin in January.
Without further ado, here’s one hot take on each transfer the Badgers signed:
QB Colton Joseph will lead Wisconsin in rushing
This shouldn’t even be that hot of a take — the quarterback led Old Dominion in rushing in 2025 by a wide margin, dashing for 1,008 yards and 13 touchdowns. Now, I love the Eric Mateos hire for Wisconsin’s offensive line, but I still don’t love the personnel in that room.
I think the Badgers’ ground game improves, but only slightly. That means Joseph has to run wild to keep this offense operational.
Deuce Adams is QB3 — maybe QB4
If Joseph gets hurt and the Badgers have to turn to a backup for the fourth straight season, I’ll simply accept that some divine power doesn’t want the Fickell era to succeed in Madison.
But if Wisconsin has to play a backup quarterback again, I see Danny O’Neil as the QB2, given his experience and potential development this offseason, provided he recovers fully from an Achilles injury suffered late in the season. With Carter Smith back in the fold as well, having started three games and already familiar with Jeff Grimes’ system, Adams’ path to even just becoming a second-stringer in that room is dicey.
RB Abu Sama takes the most handoffs for a Badger tailback since 2022 Braelon Allen
In Braelon Allen’s sophomore season, he took 230 handoffs.
Sama has never had more than 140 carries in a year, but he’s now set to be the clear-cut RB1 in Madison. This will be a run-heavy team, and the threat of Joseph’s legs should open up the ground game exponentially, which should, in turn, lead to even more carries for Sama.
Head coach Luke Fickell spoke about the importance of having multiple starter-caliber backs in his latest presser, but having watched Sama’s tape — he’s the kind of halfback who gets better the more you feed him — I think the Badgers will find themselves calling his number again and again.
RB Brian Jackson could be the best back in this room
USC fans were sad to lose this guy. The McKinney, Texas native piled up 33 offers coming out of high school from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Notre Dame and others, so it’s no surprise he got involved right out of the gate, with 36 carries in each of his first two seasons.
Sama is proven and certainly no slouch himself, but in terms of pure talent, Jackson may be tops in new running back coach Jayden Everett’s room.
Nate Palmer is the odd man out at RB
Again, Fickell stressed the importance of having multiple backs who could be “the guy.” But realistically, there are just not many opportunities for four ball-carriers to get involved consistently, and I see Sama, Jackson, and Darrion Dupree all ahead of Palmer. He’ll be just a redshirt sophomore next fall, so he has some extra time to marinate on the bench.
WR Shamar Rigby is a day one starter
If you read our film room on Shamar Rigby, you’d likely come to the same conclusion. And I mean day one as in day one of spring practice.
WR Zion Kearney surpasses established vets on the depth chart
Sure, Wisconsin returns a few upperclassmen to its wide receiver room. But are you really convinced that the likes of Chris Brooks Jr. and Tyrell Henry are going to hold off a kid who 247Sports considered the third-best receiver in the state of Texas in the class of 2024?
Kearney got involved early in his Oklahoma career before injuries derailed his sophomore season; his talent is clearly off the charts. Putting it all together is the next step.
WR Eli Adams makes some plays in spring ball
Adams is a walk-on, yes, and widely considered an inconsequential part of a package deal that got him and his more sought-after brother, the quarterback Deuce, to campus. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Adams brothers are part of the same third-string/practice squad team in spring camp, leading to some connections between the gunslinger and pass-catcher that are bound to generate headlines in the dog days of spring ball.
WR Malachi Coleman is the next Joseph Griffin Jr
And by that, I mean a tall, talented, big-bodied wideout who fails to make an impact with the Badgers due to a lack of opportunity. Coleman was an exciting get for Wisconsin, especially because it nabbed him from rival Minnesota. Still, the receiver has failed to become a consistent member of two different offenses in his collegiate career, and opportunities for wide receivers are few and far between in this system.
WR Jaylon Domingeaux is wasted on this Badger offense
I don’t care that his 52 catches for 857 yards and 11 touchdowns this past fall came at FCS Southeastern Louisiana. Watch him play, and you see a gifted big-play machine with excellent hands and body control.
So why did he come to Wisconsin? With all due respect to the Badgers’ offense, this isn’t a system that’s been conducive to wide receiver production. If he quickly wins a starting job, that’s a different story. Still, with one year of eligibility left, and other schools like Cincinnati and Arkansas also vying for his services, the Badgers are an interesting choice for the wideout. Maybe the allure of Colton Joseph is stronger than we think.
TE Jacob Harris picks up where Lance Mason left off
Now, I’m not saying Harris is going to be the team’s leading receiver like Mason was a season ago. But like Mason, he’s a natural pass-catcher at the position, something the Badgers lacked in that room for several years.
Last fall, the Badgers finally had a tight end that defenses had to worry about in the pass game. Harris keeps that going in 2026.
TE Ryan Schwendeman takes a back seat to Grant Stec
The FCS Southern Illinois transfer is more experienced than Stec, but both are predominantly in-line players, and Stec is a bigger body with Big Ten experience. Schwendeman has some receiving chops, but not enough to usurp Stec in the pecking order.
