Wisconsin football WR Eugene Hilton Jr. withdraws from transfer portal
After a brief stint in the transfer portal, Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Eugene Hilton Jr. has withdrawn and will return to the program.
The University of Wisconsin football program is getting one of its most talented young wide receivers back in the fold for 2026.
After briefly entering the transfer portal, Eugene Hilton Jr. announced that he has officially withdrawn his name and will return to Wisconsin, keeping a promising developmental piece in the Badgers’ wide receiver room at a moment when roster continuity matters just as much as talent.
“Ain’t really leave but I’m back,” Hilton wrote.
For a program that has spent the offseason reshaping its offense, Hilton’s decision to stay in Madison represents more than just retention. It’s a vote of confidence in where things are headed and the relationships he has.
Hilton, a 6-foot-1, 202-pound wideout from Indiana, appeared in all 12 games as a true freshman last season, finishing with eight receptions for 91 yards while logging 158 offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. The raw numbers don’t jump off the page, but they don’t tell the full story of the long-term vision that Wisconsin had when it signed him.
According to PFF, Hilton finished the season with a 59.4 offensive grade, including a 59.4 mark as a pass-catcher, and a 56.7 grade as a run blocker. Those grades reflect a freshman learning within an offense that struggled to find its footing, not a lack of belief from the coaching staff.
That belief was apparent early in the process.
A highly regarded 3-star recruit out of Zionsville High School, Hilton committed to Wisconsin’s 2025 class over offers from Georgia, Michigan, Indiana, Louisville, and Miami. He arrived as an early enrollee and quickly earned trust from staff in practice settings for his polish, contested catch ability, and route-running detail. Even when opportunities were limited on Saturdays, those traits consistently showed up behind the scenes.
Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes didn’t hide his confidence in Hilton.
“He definitely will have a role,” Grimes said during fall camp. “I would say right now that he’s one of our better receivers, when you’re asking a guy to run a route in the way it’s designed to be run, create separation, and then just go up and make a play on the ball. He just has a knack for getting open, and he doesn’t drop balls.”
The flashes backed that up.
Hilton’s most notable moment came on a 42-yard reception against Oregon, a contested catch that showed what he could become in a more stable offensive environment. It wasn’t an isolated moment. In practice and limited game reps, he consistently showed instincts you can’t teach.
“I think he’s got a complete skill set as a receiver,” Grimes said. “His real gift right now is that he kind of does some receiver things naturally, things that some other guys maybe two or three or four years into their career, and you’re still trying to teach them: how to run this route, or how to make that cut, or how to adjust to this ball. He just does them pretty naturally.”
Context matters here.
Wisconsin’s offense endured a brutal season, finishing No. 132 nationally in passing offense and averaging just 12.8 points per game, ranking 135th. Injuries at quarterback, shuffling along the offensive line, and a lack of cohesion made it difficult for any receiver to find consistency. For a true freshman, development was happening — just not always in visible ways.
Hilton’s brief portal entry came during a period of massive change for position coach Jordan Reid and the wide receiver room. The Badgers lost Vinny Anthony and Jayden Ballard to graduation, saw Trech Kekahuna leave via the portal, and were forced to rebuild the room from scratch.
Since then, Wisconsin has made moves to begin filling out the room.
Chris Brooks Jr. is expected back, and the staff has added Oklahoma State transfer Shamar Rigby and Southeastern Louisiana standout Jaylon Domingeaux, injecting size, experience, and proven production into the position group. But the most significant change is under center.
The addition of Old Dominion’s star transfer quarterback Colton Joseph was designed to inject some life into an offense that badly needed it. Those moves change the landscape Hilton is returning to in a meaningful way.
He’s no longer walking back into the same uncertainty. He’s returning to an offense that finally has structure forming around it.
That matters for development.
Hilton finished his high school career with 156 receptions for 2,162 yards and 29 touchdowns, production that reflected both reliability and big-play ability. The internal expectation was always that his role would expand as the offense evolved and the room turned over. Now, instead of starting that process over somewhere else, he gets to continue it with Wisconsin.
In the portal era, retaining a young player with this kind of skill set is a win, because there’s far less risk when it’s someone you already know.
For Wisconsin, Hilton’s return keeps a talented young receiver in the program at a time when snaps are readily available, and roles are still up for grabs. For Hilton, it’s a chance to build on a freshman year that was more about learning than producing, and to prove that patience can still pay off when opportunity finally aligns with off-field preparation.
This chapter isn’t closing after all. In many ways, it’s just getting started.
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.