Wisconsin Hits & Misses From 2023 Transfer Portal Haul
Let's reflect on the Wisconsin football team's previous transfer class, shall we?
Year one of the Luke Fickell era concluded with the Wisconsin football program achieving a 7-5 overall record and a 5-4 finish in Big Ten play. It's not exactly what Badgers fans envisioned, but a strong finish that included wins over Nebraska and Minnesota helped heal some wounds.
Now that the dust has settled and we've had time to reflect on the season, digest the data, and determine what it all means, I thought it could be a valuable exercise if we reviewed the transfer portal class Coach Fickell brought in last off-season.
In doing so, I'd like to categorize these acquisitions as either hits or misses. In the spirit of being fair, we'll also include a "wait and see" to help delineate the evolution of the Wisconsin Badgers roster.
Re-evaluating the 2023 transfer portal haul with the benefit of hindsight should allow us to assess the coaching staff's effectiveness in evaluating talent and how it shaped the team. Let's dive in.
Wisconsin Football Transfer Portal Hits
I'd like first to acknowledge that labeling any Wisconsin football player a transfer portal "hit" is a somewhat subjective process — and is all relative to one's expectation. I also think it's important to note that most transfer additions aren't acquired with the intent of becoming stars. Instead, they're typically brought in to fill niche roles or provide necessary depth.
With that being said, this is the group of Wisconsin Badgers transfers from last offseason that I think were hits by Luke Fickell and his staff:
Will Pauling
Bryson Green
Nyzier Fourqurean
Jason Maitre
Braedyn Locke
Nathanial Vakos
Joe Huber
Tanner Mordecai
First, Will Pauling is coming off a season where he caught 66 passes (5th most in a single season in Wisconsin history) for a team-high 694 yards and four touchdowns. He was the Badgers' unquestioned WR1 from the slot — and a home-run addition who still has two years of eligibility.
Bryson Green established himself as the team's No. 2 wideout and caught 25 passes for 375 yards and a score. Anytime you can add a starting boundary WR, that's considered a win, even if you'd like to see more.
Wisconsin football coaches had to rebuild their secondary completely after they took over and found two starting caliber players in Jason Maitre (nickel) and Nyzier Fourqurean from Grand Valley State, who eventually supplanted Alexander Smith opposite of Ricardo Hallman. Maitre is exactly what you're hoping most veteran portal additions will be as someone who can fill an immediate need. Fourqurean has additional eligibility, allowing him to factor into the team's future plans. Nice find.
Although Braedyn Locke was thrust into a temporary starting quarterback role he probably wasn't ready for — for a redshirt freshman, I thought he mostly looked the part. Locke threw for 778 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception in three starts, completing 50% of his passes. I'm calling Locke a hit rather than a wait-and-see because even if he never becomes the program's QB1, I'm confident he's an above-average backup at worst for the Badgers — and that still has plenty of value.
When healthy, Nathaniel Vakos was arguably the best Wisconsin football placekicker the Badgers have had in quite some time, probably Rafael Gaglianone. He went 14-of-17 on field goal attempts and made all 30 extra points. With two additional years of eligibility, this was an excellent transfer portal addition to bolster special teams.
Joe Huber may not have been a stalwart offensive lineman, but he started all 12 games for the Wisconsin Badgers and finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of 66.2 — which is considered above average. He wasn't anything special as a run-blocker but graded out favorably in pass-pro. Landing a starting caliber Power 5 lineman is a win.
My last one might be the most controversial, but I still think Wisconsin football mostly hit on Tanner Mordecai. Was he as productive as most people, myself included, thought he would be? Not even close. But he was easily the best option the Badgers had, and his leadership was invaluable. PFF even had Mordecai as the highest-graded Badgers offensive starter (78.9), providing the offense with a threat as a runner.
I understand anyone who feels differently about Mordecai. Still, I saw enough from the sixth-year senior to label him a hit within the context of the season's outcome rather than hold the unrealistic weight of offseason expectations against him.
Wisconsin Football Transfer Portal Misses
I may have my rose-colored Badgers goggles on, but the Wisconsin football coaches didn't have many players who were outright misses in their first cycle. But there were still a few, and here's who I've got:
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