Wisconsin football lands Louisville transfer QB Deuce Adams
Former Louisville quarterback Deuce Adams has committed to the Wisconsin Badgers through the transfer portal.
The Wisconsin football program has added another quarterback to its roster through the transfer portal, further solidifying its room heading into the 2026 season.
Louisville transfer quarterback Deuce Adams has committed to the Badgers following an official visit, giving Wisconsin a developmental signal-caller with experience at the Power Four level and three years of eligibility remaining. ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported Adams’ decision.
Adams checks in at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds and hails from Austin (TX.), where he played his high school football at Vandegrift High School. A former three-star recruit, he originally signed with Louisville over offers from Baylor, California, and several others, entering college viewed as a long-term project at quarterback rather than an immediate answer.
That context still matters.
Adams redshirted during the 2024 season, appearing in one game, taking just one offensive snap as he acclimated to the college game.
His role expanded modestly in 2025, when he appeared in six games for the Cardinals and logged 64 total offensive snaps. He finished the season 15-of-21 passing for 112 yards and added 33 rushing yards on the ground.
Efficiency stands out more than volume.
According to Pro Football Focus, Adams finished the 2025 season with a 64.9 overall offensive grade, including a 73.1 mark as a passer. He was credited with having two big-time throws and did not record a turnover-worthy play on any of his pass attempts, suggesting a quarterback who took care of the football and stayed within structure when given chances.
For Wisconsin, this is about rounding out the room.
The Badgers already landed their top transfer target at the position in Old Dominion quarterback Colton Joseph, who is expected to be the starter entering 2026. Wisconsin is also set to return Carter Smith and Danny O’Neil, though O’Neil’s recovery from an Achilles injury adds some uncertainty to his timeline. On top of that, the staff signed Ryan Hopkins in the 2026 recruiting class, adding another young arm to the room.
Adams fits into that picture as a depth-and-development piece rather than someone expected to push for the starting job. He’s not arriving with expectations of earning immediate snaps, but he does bring live-game experience, clean decision-making, and time to grow within the system.
More importantly, his addition reflects a clearer organizational approach: Wisconsin is now stacking quarterbacks with similar skill sets, aiming to maintain an offensive identity from week to week after last year’s injuries forced constant personnel and play-calling uncertainty under Jeff Grimes.
This move likely signals that Wisconsin is close to done reshaping its quarterback room, barring something unforeseen.
The staff wanted competition. They wanted flexibility. And they wanted multiple paths forward rather than putting all their eggs in one basket. Adams helps give Kenny Guiton another option to mold while stabilizing the position behind Joseph as the offense continues to take shape.
It’s a low-risk addition with some upside, and one that aligns with how Wisconsin has approached the portal this offseason: add bodies, raise the floor of each room, and let development and competition do the rest.
We appreciate you taking the time to read our work at BadgerNotes.com. Your support means the world to us and has helped us become a leading independent source for Wisconsin Badgers coverage.
You can also follow Site Publisher Dillon Graff at @DillonGraff on X.
Good context. Hard to grow/develop players in the Portal Era, but it appears to be a logical/methodical approach. Glad that we can attract a young player to a program where he does not expect playing time immediately, but expects to develop and improve.