Talented freshman cornerback leaving Wisconsin football for the transfer portal
Wisconsin football freshman cornerback Xavier Lucas has entered the transfer portal. His departure is a massive loss for the Badgers' defense.
The Wisconsin football team's secondary has taken a massive hit, losing one of its most promising young defenders.
True freshman cornerback Xavier Lucas announced he is leaving the Badgers after just one season in Madison and entering the NCAA transfer portal.
"Thank you Wisconsin for everything," Lucas wrote on X. "I am officially entering the transfer portal."
Lucas, a 6-foot-2, 198-pound cornerback from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was one of Wisconsin’s marquee recruiting wins in the 2024 cycle. Head coach Luke Fickell and his staff went all out to secure his commitment, fending off late pushes from Miami and Florida State.
The talented defensive back also held offers from Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Auburn, Tennessee, and several other Power 4 programs.
Lucas had the requisite size, technique, and ball skills to develop into a cornerstone of Wisconsin’s secondary—a position group that has found a lot of success under coach Fickell dating back to his time at Cincinnati.
Wisconsin wasted no time integrating Lucas into their defense. Despite not arriving on campus until summertime, the freshman played in 11 games during the 2024 season, recording 18 tackles, three pass breakups, and an interception in his debut against Western Michigan.
Digging into PFF's stable metrics, Lucas emerged as one of the nation’s top young cornerbacks in 2024. He graded out in the 97th percentile nationally in coverage and the 96th percentile, specifically at outside cornerback, all while maintaining a strong missed tackle rate of just 6.3%.
“He’s a guy that we knew, walking in the door, had talent. We knew he was going to have to be put in there at some point in time... He has done a good job, when he’s in there, of being consistent," Fickell said.
“That’s not always what you get with a young guy. Usually, there’s a bit more of a roller coaster with young guys... He’s not a guy you’d think that about it. He’s a bit more mature beyond his years, and I think it’s starting to show.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Lucas was the highest-graded defender on Wisconsin’s roster this past season, earning an 81.3 overall defensive grade.
His 80.6 pass coverage grade led all Badgers defensive backs and was the sixth-best among all cornerbacks in the Big Ten conference.
However, Lucas’ season wasn’t without setbacks. A lower back injury sustained against Northwestern limited his availability late in the season. While he returned to play 56 snaps in a loss against Nebraska, he was not used on defense during the regular-season finale against the Minnesota Gophers.
Lucas’ decision to transfer out of the program continues a troubling trend for Wisconsin’s defensive secondary. He becomes the eighth defensive back to enter the portal this offseason, leaving junior Ricardo Hallman as the only meaningful contributor from the 2024 roster. Hallman is still weighing his options, including a potential move to the NFL. He could also explore other options for his final season of eligibility.
That places Wisconsin, which has yet to add a cornerback from the transfer portal, in a tough spot. Omillio Agard and Jay Harper are the only other returning scholarship cornerbacks, with incoming freshmen Cairo Skanes and Jahmare Washington also set to join the program.
With such limited depth, the Badgers will need to aggressively target the portal to address the void left by outgoing transfers.
The departure of a player like Lucas stresses some of the broader challenges in college football’s current landscape, which has no guardrails. Speaking on 97.3 The Game, Fickell addressed the growing issue of player movement.
"Every kid is being recruited right now. Not just kids in the transfer portal," Fickell explained. "That’s what’s probably the most alarming thing. It’s making it almost impossible to have some semblance of where you're headed because there’s open lines to everybody."
The Miami Hurricanes are assumed to have played a significant role in Lucas' decision to enter the transfer portal. There were rumblings of a more competitive NIL package being offered and the chance to play closer to home. Given those circumstances, Lucas' decision to leave is understandable.
That said, Lucas’ departure leaves a glaring hole in Wisconsin’s secondary, a position group that already struggled with depth. With the Badgers’ outgoing transfer total now at 21 scholarship players, Fickell and his staff have plenty of work to do in order to rebuild their roster.
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Unbelievable!😡👎 Can Wisconsin ever be competitive again?