Wisconsin football offensive lineman Joe Brunner enters NCAA transfer portal
Wisconsin football offensive lineman Joe Brunner has entered the NCAA transfer portal after three seasons with the Badgers.
The University of Wisconsin football program will be without one of its most experienced and reliable offensive linemen moving forward.
Joe Brunner, a redshirt junior offensive lineman from Whitefish Bay (Wis.), has officially entered the NCAA transfer portal, bringing an end to a three-year run with the Badgers that saw him grow into a dependable presence up front during a turbulent stretch for the football program.
Brunner’s situation was complicated. This offseason, it was presented as a clear decision between the NFL Draft or a return to Wisconsin. As is often the case now, that plan changed. The market moved quickly, and with programs across the country willing to put significant NIL funds on the table, it’s hard for a player in Brunner’s position not to explore what his value is on the open market. Ultimately, that’s the path Brunner chose.
A former four-star recruit in the 2022 class, Brunner was the No. 1 prospect in the state of Wisconsin and a nationally ranked interior lineman who chose the Badgers over offers from programs like Notre Dame, Ohio State, LSU, and Oregon. He originally signed under Paul Chryst, drawn by the program’s long-standing reputation for offensive line development.
After redshirting and seeing most of his early contributions on special teams in 2022 and 2023, Brunner took a major step forward in 2024. He earned the starting job at left guard, started all 12 games, and finished the season with a 63.1 offensive grade, per Pro Football Focus, including a 77.8 mark in pass protection, the third-highest among Big Ten guards.
The 6-foot-5, 317-pound linemen started all 12 games during the 2025 season under former position coach A.J. Blazek, providing much-needed continuity to an offensive line that battled injuries, constant shuffling, and schematic changes as the Badgers struggled to find any real consistency.
Despite the mess happening around Brunner, he posted a 65.6 offensive grade, per PFF, including a 71.5 mark in pass protection and a 63.2 grade as a run blocker across 694 offensive snaps. Perhaps most notably, Brunner was not credited with allowing a single sack during the season, or at any point in his Wisconsin career, which spanned 1,541 total snaps.
Brunner’s reliability stood out even in a disappointing season. He earned honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition from the media and was viewed internally as a “rock” during a 4–8 season that tested the roster and coaching staff alike. His performance came amid significant changes around him, including multiple coaching shakeups at the position group.
One of the more telling moments came on Senior Day against Illinois, when Brunner walked with departing seniors, honoring close friends and roommates who were leaving the football program. He insisted it wasn’t a farewell, leaving his future open: return for a fifth year or declare for the NFL Draft despite having eligibility remaining. At the time, head coach Luke Fickell downplayed the idea that the gesture had a larger meaning.
“He had actually asked me earlier in the week about being able to walk with his buddies,” Fickell said on Nov. 24. “I said, ‘If that’s what you want to do and you want to go walk with a lot of the guys that obviously you live with and your buddies, then we’ll go about that. We won’t read into it. We’ll move forward because we respect you. You’ve meant an incredible, incredible amount to us and our program, our team this year in particular.”
That respect remains intact, but the reality of the current landscape is unavoidable. With a new offensive line coach, Eric Mateos, coming in and the Badgers coaching staff preparing to rebuild its roster through the portal, Brunner’s decision reflects both a personal evaluation of his path forward and a program that’s in flux. A source indicated that Wisconsin did make an effort to retain him, but as is often the case in this era, fit, timing, and opportunity ultimately carried as much weight as familiarity.
For Wisconsin, the loss is rather significant. Experienced interior linemen are difficult to replace, especially ones who have proven they can hold up across an entire season and have shown an ability to be a plus pass protector. For Brunner, the portal offers options, money, and a fresh start.
In today’s transient college football landscape, this is another reminder that even foundational pieces are constantly weighing what comes next. For Wisconsin, it means the program’s front office and talent evaluators must once again rebuild the offensive line through a mix of experienced portal additions and internal development, with minimal margin for error.
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This departure really hurts. This could be an indicator that the Badgers don’t have the money to compete. With PFF ratings like he had against the toughest schedule in college football, he’d probably command at least $400,000. That’s about $39,000 per game. It will be very interesting if Dillon cracks the code on what we’re paying.