Wisconsin Football News: Badgers Find DL Help in Portal, Transfer Targets, More
It's been a busy week for the Wisconsin football program, ladies and gents, but don't fret because BadgerNotes can help get you back up to speed.
It’s been a busy week for the Wisconsin football program, ladies and gents, but fear not because BadgerNotes can help get you back up to speed with a roundup of some important news you may have missed.
Wisconsin Football Lands DL From Transfer Portal
After losing Keeanu Benton to the NFL Draft, the Badgers desperately needed additional bodies on the defensive line.
Thankfully, Luke Fickell and his staff were able to flip former Temple DL Darian Varner, who recently committed to Virginia Tech after entering his name into the transfer portal.
Varner, a 6-foot-3, 255-pound DL, is coming off a breakout sophomore season where he registered 35 tackles, 24 pressures, 7.5 sacks, and a forced fumble en route to First-Team All-AAC honors.
According to Pro Football Focus, Varner received a 72.7 pass-rushing grade this past season. He offers tremendous versatility for coach Tressell, showing the ability to play with his hand in the ground of rush coming off the EDGE.
The Temple transfer joins the Wisconsin football program with two years of remaining eligibility.
Other Wisconsin Football News
There have been rumors about USC wideout CJ Williams swirling ever since he retweeted Nick Evers’ commitment post on social media. Those rumors gained additional traction last night when he officially put his name into the transfer portal and followed that up with a tweet saying, “I’ll see you tomorrow Madison”.
Per the 247Sports Composite, Williams was the No. 73 overall prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, the No. 10 WR in the country, and the No. 6 player in California.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound WR appeared in 10 games as a true freshman this past season, finishing with four catches for 34 yards.
A former standout at Mater Dei, Williams is a high-upside possession receiver who played in the All-American Bowl. He makes a lot of sense as a priority target for Wisconsin football, which wants to add dynamic weapons to its new air raid offense under Phil Longo.