What to know about Wisconsin football and the first days of the transfer portal
Trying to summarize just what's happened for the Badgers in the first five days of the transfer portal
Luke Fickell and his University of Wisconsin football staff have been one of the busiest college football programs in the transfer portal to start 2026.
The college football transfer portal officially opened Jan. 2 and runs through Jan. 16, and its evolution has transformed the landscape of sport. Wisconsin already sat at 16 incoming transfers — between those the program has already announced, those who have posted their intentions to come to Madison, and those reported by other outlets — as of Tuesday night.
Wisconsin had the sixth-largest transfer class in the nation as of 8 a.m. CT Wednesday morning, according to 247Sports transfer team rankings. They trailed Iowa State (25), Penn State (24), Oklahoma State (23), South Florida (18) and Colorado (16) in number of commits, according to that outlet. The Badgers and Buffaloes are not rebuilding their programs after coaching changes, unlike those quartet of schools that were ahead of them.
The large number of recruits is also part of the reason why Wisconsin was ranked No. 12 in the nation by 247Sports1 just over five days since the portal window commenced.
Here’s what to take away from the Badgers’s early work, and also some notable Wednesday morning updates.
Badgers are adding players daily
So this article was essentially outdated by the time it was published, and subscribers will see updates in the sections below. Three more players committed and are set to sign with Wisconsin as of 10 a.m. Wednesday, which all have been confirmed by Badger Observer.
We published this article at 8:26 a.m. CT Wednesday morning, but as 247Sports and On3 reported, former Florida State offensive lineman Lucas Simmons committed to Wisconsin. That was confirmed by Simmons’ agent via an early morning text.
The Badgers added a second receiver to its 2026 portal class in former Southeastern wide out Jaylon Domingeaux, which was first reported by On3. Then minutes later, both On3 and 247Sports reported that former Southern Cal running back Bryan Jackson would be heading to Madison.
Wisconsin’s added to every position group on offense and defense
Credit is due to the staff in securing key players on both sides of the ball. The updated breakdown of transfer commits thus far is as follows:
Quarterback - 1
Running back - 2
Wide receiver - 2
Tight end - 2
Offensive line - 3
Defensive line - 1
Inside linebacker - 2
Outside linebacker - 1
Defensive backs - 5
Note: These numbers will increase.
Update: They have increased, and they’ve been updated as of 10 a.m. CT Wednesday.
Wisconsin locked in key wins for its offensive backfield
Wisconsin got its quarterback in signing Colten Joseph, who shined at Old Dominion with his dual-threat capabilities and earned 2025 Sun Belt offensive player of the year honors. He completed 59.7% of his throws for 2,624 yards and 21 touchdowns to 10 interceptions in 12 games, but he also gashed foes for 1,007 yards rushing on 6.4 yards per carry and 13 touchdowns.
