Who should replace Nyzier Fourqurean in Wisconsin football's secondary?
After the senior cornerback's eligibility was denied, the Badgers have a handful of feasible options to replace him. What makes the most sense?
The Wisconsin football team's cornerback room continued to be ravaged in unique and unprecedented ways this offseason, as senior boundary cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean’s eligibility for 2025 was denied in court.
Make no mistake — this is a significant loss for the Badgers’ defense. The secondary, widely viewed as its greatest strength, now has a major question mark at a critical position.
Wisconsin must now scramble to replace an experienced, skilled cornerback who appeared primed for his best season yet.
Last fall, Fourqurean had a career year at the FBS level, notching 37 tackles, five pass breakups and one interception. Though Pro Football Focus credits him with a poor reception percentage of 68.2 (30-of-44 targets were caught), he only allowed one touchdown in coverage was a critical component of the Badgers’ secondary.
Despite seeing a mass exodus of transfers this offseason, six total if you count the embattled Xavier Lucas, the Badgers have several options moving forward in the wake of the Fourqurean ruling thanks to two incoming transfers, a handful of seemingly capable freshmen and some positional versatility in the secondary.
Below, BadgerNotes breaks down each scenario Wisconsin could feasibly roll with heading into the 2025 campaign with Fourqurean seemingly out of the picture:
Best-case scenario
Obviously, the true best-case scenario involves Fourqurean hopping through whatever legal loopholes may exist that would allow him to suit up this fall. But given that the situation doesn’t look all too promising right now, we’ll assume the corner’s eligibility has been officially exhausted for this exercise.
The best-case scenario for the Badgers is Miami (FL) transfer D’Yoni Hill stepping into Fourqurean’s place as seamlessly as possible and assuming the starting boundary cornerback role.
Hill began his career at Marshall before transferring to the Hurricanes, but he proved he could play at the Power Conference level last season in Coral Gables. He logged 29 tackles and one pass breakup while allowing a reception on just 51.4 percent of his targets.
Hill’s three years of experience are evident throughout his tape. Below, he snuffs out a screen pass and makes a tackle-for-loss on the talented Jayden Ott:
*Note: Hill wore #19 at Miami
Hill has been around the block a few times at varying levels of the sport, and that experience helps him diagnose plays like the one above. He also isn’t afraid to get physical, as evidenced by that strong tackle on the halfback.
Hill’s physicality bleeds into his coverage as well, a big reason why he’s the prime candidate to replace Fourqurean. The latter played 99 snap in press coverage a season ago, and Hill played 123. Both are no stranger to the boundary side of the field, where getting in receiver’s faces is a requirement.
In fact, Hill’s best reps came when he was in press coverage. He’s not the most physically imposing cornerback at a listed 6-feet, 180 pounds, but that’s more than enough size to cause problems for pass-catchers at the line of scrimmage.
Watch Hill at the bottom of your screen. He completely knocks his receiver off the route, and nearly comes up with an interception in the process. That handsy, physical style is part of Fourqurean’s toolbox, and something Hill excels at as well.
Hill’s experience and proficiency in press coverage make him the top option to replace Fourqurean. He was Fourqurean’s backup throughout spring camp, so it appears the staff may share that opinion.
Now, Hill was far from perfect in Coral Gables. Below, you’ll see him surrender a touchdown in zone coverage, letting a receiver run right by him:
But again, Hill’s strengths align with what Wisconsin needs to replace in the absence of Fourqurean. He’s seasoned and physical, and represents the only option that wouldn’t shake up the established pecking order in the secondary.