Tag: depth chart

BREAKING: Wisconsin lands commitment from Western Carolina transfer linebacker

Wisconsin adds transfer commitment No. 11

Wisconsin landed a commitment from Western Carolina transfer linebacker Antarron Turner on Wednesday evening.

Turner is the program’s 11th transfer commitment of the cycle and second of the day, following Ohio State wide receiver Jayden Ballard. He joins the program with two years of eligibility remaining.

Related: Tracking Wisconsin football’s transfer portal offers, interests and commitments

The junior linebacker is fresh off a breakout 2024 season for a Western Carolina team that finished second in the Southern Conference (Football Championship Subdivision). His campaign included 61 total tackles (26 solo), two pass deflections, 6 1/2 tackles for loss and three sacks.

Turner is the program’s sixth defensive addition of 11 overall transfer commitments. He is its first addition at stand-up linebacker, one of the program’s bigger needs after the impending departures of Jaheim Thomas and Jake Chaney. Junior Christian Alliegro figures to lead the position in 2025 with the other starting spot up for grabs.

The linebacker is also Wisconsin’s third addition from the FCS level, joining defensive lineman Charles Perkins and safety Matthew Traynor. The Badgers have made a concerted effort to land proven Football Bowl Subdivision production, while still targeting FCS standouts looking to make the jump up in level. Turner’s commitment fits into the latter.

While the Western Carolina transfer should be added to the mix for a starting linebacker slot in 2025, the Badgers are unlikely to be finished recruiting the position.

For more on that pursuit, bookmark our transfer visit and commitment tracker.

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Report: Wisconsin freshman pass-rusher, former blue-chip recruit enters NCAA transfer portal

Wisconsin lost a second freshman to the transfer portal

Wisconsin freshman outside linebacker Anelu Lafaele is entering the transfer portal, according to 247Sports’ Brandon Huffman.

Lafaele joined the Badgers as a four-star recruit in the class of 2024. He is the program’s 20th scholarship player to enter the portal since the 2024 season concluded.

Related: Wisconsin football 2024 transfer portal departure tracker

Notably, Lafaele is the second member of the Badgers’ top-ranked class of 2024 to exit, joining three-star defensive lineman Hank Weber. The talented pass-rusher signed with the program as the No. 601 player in the class, the No. 27 edge rusher and the No. 3 recruit from his home state of Hawaii. He chose the Badgers over finalists Arizona State, Hawaii and Washington, doing so in unique and memorable fashion.

Lafaele redshirted in 2024 as veterans Leon Lowery, John Pius, Darryl Peterson and Aaron Witt led the Badgers at the position. Peterson, Witt and rising junior Sebastian Cheeks are all back for 2024, in addition to incoming transfer Mason Reiger. Fellow freshmen Thomas Heiberger and Ernest Willor Jr. will also attempt to grow into prominent roles on the depth chart.

Lafaele’s recruiting profile put him with the program’s top young talent at the position. He will look to fulfill that potential elsewhere, transferring out with four years of eligibility remaining.

For more who Wisconsin has lost to the portal and where those players are headed, bookmark our transfer departure tracker.

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BREAKING: Wisconsin lands commitment from Ohio State transfer wide receiver

Wisconsin lands an experienced transfer wide receiver

Wisconsin landed a commitment from former Ohio State wide receiver Jayden Ballard on Wednesday.

Ballard is Wisconsin’s first transfer wide receiver addition of the cycle and its 10th transfer commitment. He joins the program with one year of eligibility remaining.

Related: Tracking Wisconsin football’s transfer portal offers, interests and commitments

Ballard entered the portal after four years with the Buckeyes. He joined the program in 2021 as one of the top recruits in the country (No. 55 overall in the class of 2021).

The Ohio native never fully delivered on his top recruiting profile amid a loaded wide receiver room in Columbus. He played in 35 combined games over four seasons, totaling 11 catches, 177 receiving yards and one touchdown. His 2022 campaign accounted for much of that production: eight catches, 155 yards and a touchdown.

Ballard joins a Wisconsin wide receiver room that recently lost both Will Pauling and C.J. Williams to the transfer portal. Redshirt sophomore Trech Kekahuna (slot) and senior Vinny Anthony each figure to start, leaving a major opportunity at the second boundary position. Ballard joins a mix of contenders for that starting spot that also includes redshirt juniors Joseph Griffin Jr. and Quincy Burroughs.

Overall, the wide receiver group figures to play a prominent role as new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes installs his scheme, shifting the program away from its air raid approach.

Wisconsin had a top-10 transfer class before Ballard’s commitment. His addition should propel the group further up the rankings.

Bookmark our transfer visit and commitment tracker as Luke Fickell and his staff continue to make significant moves to bolster the roster.

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Notes, takeaways from Colts’ Week 16 unofficial depth chart

The Colts’ released their Week 16 unofficial depth chart. Here are some key notes and takeaways from it.

Just as they’ve done every week this season, the Indianapolis Colts have released their unofficial depth chart for their Week 16 matchup against Tennessee.

Now of course, the key word here is “unofficial,” so what is listed below may not quite align with the playing time we see on Sundays, and that will be noted in the takeaways section.

So, with that in mind, let’s dive into the Colts’ Week 16 unofficial depth chart and what stands out from it.

Colts offense

  • WR: Michael Pittman Jr., Ashton Dulin
  • LT: Bernhard Raimann, Blake Freeland
  • LG: Quenton Nelson, Danny Pinter OR Tanor Bortolini
  • C: Tanor Bortolini, Danny Pinter
  • RG: Dalton Tucker, Atonio Mafi
  • RT: Matt Goncalves
  • TE: Mo Alie-Cox, Drew Ogletree
  • TE: Kylen Granson, Will Mallory
  • WR: Josh Downs, Anthony Gould
  • WR: Alec Pierce OR Adonai Mitchell
  • QB: Anthony Richardson, Joe Flacco, Sam Ehlinger
  • RB: Jonathan Taylor, Trey Sermon, Tyler Goodson

Quick Takeaways

– The starting X receiver spot is listed as Pierce or Mitchell, but that hasn’t been the case this season. Pierce has played 680 snaps and Mitchell has played 305, and when the receiver room is healthy, often ranks fifth at the position on the team in snaps. Now, worth watching, is that Pierce is in concussion protocol, leaving his status for Sunday up in the air, which would mean a larger role for Mitchell, especially if Ashton Dulin is out again as well.

– With Ryan Kelly on IR yet, Tanor Borotolini is listed as the starting center, even though it was Danny Pinter who got the start against Denver. My guess is that after the offensive line had a strong performance in the run game against New England, the Colts opted to keep that continuity. I do wonder if they go back to Bortolini this week.

– I’m sure you noticed that Mark Glowinski isn’t even listed and that’s because he’s still on the practice squad. Each practice squad player can be elevated to the gameday roster up to three times before the team then has to add them to the 53-man. Glowinski has been elevated twice so far, and I’m going to again guess that the Colts will use all three elevations before having to sign him to the active roster which would require them to then cut a player to make room.

Colts defense

  • DE: Kwity Paye, Laiatu Latu
  • DT: DeForest Buckner, Taven Bryan, Adetomiwa Adebawore
  • NT: Grover Stewart, Raekwon Davis
  • DE: Dayo Odeyingbo, Tyquan Lewis, Isaiah Land
  • WLB: E.J. Speed
  • MLB: Zaire Franklin, Segun Olubi
  • SAM: Grant Stuard, Cameron McGrone
  • CB: Samuel Womack III, David Long Jr.
  • FS: Julian Blackmon, Rodney Thomas II, Darren Hall
  • SS: Nick Cross, Ronnie Harrison Jr.
  • N: Kenny Moore II, Chris Lammons
  • CB: Jaylon Jones

Quick Takeaways

– I’ve mentioned this before, but I thought Raekwon Davis was going to play a larger role when he was signed as a free agent this offseason. For a team that needed improved run defense depth–and still do–I thought he would see more snaps as the third member of that defensive tackle rotation, but he’s played fewer than one-third of the defensive snaps this season and that includes taking on a larger role for a chunk of the season when DeForest Buckner was on IR.

– This depth chart showcases how thing the Colts are at boundary cornerback with David Long Jr. as the only backup for Sam Womack or Jaylon Jones. While Kenny Moore could move outside if needed, obviously that’s not ideal. Potentially boosting that depth could be the return of JuJu Brents who was designated to return from IR on Wednesday.

Special teams

  • P: Rigoberto Sanchez
  • PK: Matt Gay
  • H: Rigoberto Sanchez
  • LS: Luke Rhodes
  • KR: Tyler Goodson, Anthony Gould, Ashton Dulin
  • PR: Josh Downs, Anthony Gould

Quick takeaways

– We saw last Sunday with how effective the Denver punt return unit was how much this special teams unit missed Ashton Dulin as a flier on the coverage team.

– Anthony Gould looked much more decisive in his decision-making as a punter returner than what he did early on in the year.

Wisconsin transfer cornerback commits to South Florida

Wisconsin transfer cornerback commits to South Florida

Wisconsin transfer cornerback Jonas Duclona committed to South Florida on Tuesday.

He is one of 20 Wisconsin scholarship players to enter the portal — 19 without counting Trech Kekahuna, who quickly returned to the program. Duclona is one of several Badger transfers to find new homes, joining Leon Lowery (Illinois) and Amare Snowden (Toledo).

Related: Wisconsin football 2024 transfer portal departure tracker

The redshirt freshman cornerback joined the Badgers as a three-star recruit in the class of 2023. He was one of Luke Fickell’s first high school commitments after landing the job in November 2022.

Duclona played 15 total games over his two seasons with the program, totaling just five tackles. 12 of those 15 appearances came as a true freshman in 2023. He and others in the room saw their roles diminish in 2024 with the emergence of top freshman CB Xavier Lucas.

The cornerback’s departure reflects a larger trend — 11 of Wisconsin’s 15 class of 2023 signees have transferred, including a large collection of players in the secondary. That movement has erased much of the program’s depth at the position.

Duclona joins a South Florida program that went 6-6 during the 2024 regular season. It is set for a Hawaii bowl matchup with San Jose State. The program’s best recent stretch came 2016 (11-2) and 2017 (10-2) under coaches Willie Taggart and Charlie Strong, respectively. Now, it is far from the top contender in a struggling American Athletic Conference.

Expect Wisconsin to target the cornerback position as the transfer cycle continues. The program has done well in addressing major needs including quarterback and defensive line. Cornerback, linebacker and wide receiver will likely be the next positions to be addressed.

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Wisconsin senior safety announces return for 2025 football season

Big news for the Wisconsin defense

Wisconsin senior safety Preston Zachman announced his return to the Badgers for the 2025 football season on Tuesday.

He is one of several Badgers veterans to return, joining center Jake Renfro, right tackle Riley Mahlman and outside linebacker Darryl Peterson.

Related: Takeaways from Wisconsin landing QB Billy Edwards Jr., a busy day of transfer commitments

Zachman was previously honored during Wisconsin’s senior day before its closing game against Minnesota. That indicated his intention to move on, as no other player to participate in the festivities is returning for 2025. On Tuesday, Zachman became the first.

The veteran safety originally joined the Badgers as a three-star recruit in the class of 2020. He redshirted during the 2020 season, then missed all of 2021 with an injury. He found a role in 2022 before another injury cost him a chunk of the season.

Zachman was mostly overlooked as a starting option at safety entering the 2023 season with Hunter Wohler and Kamo’i Latu both returning. He wound up supplanting Latu for the second starting spot, and finished the campaign with 13 games (five starts), 49 tackles, one tackle for loss, two interceptions and three pass deflections.

Zachman then helped lead the room in 2024, finishing with 58 tackles, three tackles for loss, two interceptions and four pass deflections.

The veteran safety’s return is significant news for the Wisconsin defense. The Badgers recently landed Richmond transfer safety Matthew Traynor to bolster the position. Traynor broke out as a redshirt freshman in 2024 and gives the Badgers a strong multi-year starting option. There are, however, some questions about how his production will translate from the Football Championship Subdivision level.

Zachman’s return adds dependable production and a valuable leadership presence to the position as Traynor adjusts to the Big Ten game.

We can now cross starting safety off of Wisconsin’s list of pressing list of roster needs. The program may still look to add more depth at the position.

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Wisconsin transfer outside linebacker commits to Big Ten rival

Wisconsin transfer outside linebacker commits to Big Ten rival

Former Wisconsin outside linebacker Leon Lowery signed with Illinois on Tuesday.

Lowery entered the transfer portal on Dec. 1 after one year at Wisconsin. He commits to a Fighting Illini program that is fresh off a 9-3 2024 season. It is preparing to face No. 20 South Carolina in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31 in Orlando, Florida.

Prior to his stint with UW, Lowery played four seasons at Syracuse from 2020-23. He appeared in 29 games in that time and logged 77 total tackles, 20 1/2 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups.

The veteran pass-rusher did not translate that level of production to Wisconsin. During his lone season with the Badgers, he recorded 29 total tackles (18 solo), one tackle for loss and one sack.

Wisconsin’s outside linebacker room mostly struggled to pressure the quarterback in 2024. Lowery, alongside top outside linebackers Darryl Peterson, John Pius, Aaron Witt and Sebastian Cheeks, combined for 6 1/2 sacks and 13 tackles for loss. That lack of production was one reason the Wisconsin defense was unable to return to its pre-2023 form.

Lowery was one of Wisconsin’s first players to enter the portal when it opened in early December. He is set to play his final season of eligibility for a team that Wisconsin will face in 2025. The Fighting Illini visit the Badgers on Nov. 22, 2025, at Camp Randall. 

Wisconsin loses another projected starting wide receiver to the transfer portal

Another Wisconsin starting wide receiver is in the portal

Wisconsin wide receiver C.J. Williams entered the transfer portal on Tuesday.

His move followed the departure of top WR Will Pauling. Those two moves increased Wisconsin’s transfer count to 19 scholarship players.

Related: Wisconsin football 2024 transfer portal departure tracker

Williams was one of Wisconsin’s signature transfer additions entering the 2023 season. He joined the Badgers after playing sparingly as a true freshman at USC, which he joined as a four-star recruit and the No. 62 overall player in the class of 2022.

His addition was a major statement of arrival for Luke Fickell’s new regime, specifically for air raid offensive coordinator Phil Longo. The move furthered what was an unabated confidence in the team’s new-look offensive approach — confidence that quickly waned amid the unit’s on-field struggles.

The California native never fulfilled that top recruiting billing during his time at Wisconsin. He caught 31 combined passes over the two seasons for 396 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Many factors played into those limited numbers, including a crowded receiver room and mostly inconsistent quarterback play.

Williams enters the portal with one year of eligibility remaining.

Pauling and Williams exiting heightens wide receiver as an important position of need for the program. Vinny Anthony and Trech Kekahuna are both back to start, with a clear vacancy at the other outside receiver position. Williams figured to be a top contender for that outside position before his departure.

Wisconsin has been busy in the portal over the last few days, adding several impactful players at key positions. Expect to see wide receiver in the bio of one of the program’s upcoming commitments.

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Wisconsin top wide receiver enters NCAA transfer portal

Big news for the Badgers as a top receiver departs

Wisconsin wide receiver Will Pauling entered the transfer portal on Tuesday.

He is the program’s 18th scholarship player to enter since the portal opened on Dec. 9. He is easily one of the highest-impact departures, having led Wisconsin in receiving the last two seasons with a combined 116 catches, 1,244 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

Related: Wisconsin football 2024 transfer portal departure tracker

Pauling transferred into the program before the 2023 campaign after two seasons at Cincinnati. He was one of several Bearcats to follow coach Luke Fickell after he took over in Wisconsin.

Pauling caught 13 passes for 128 yards in his two seasons at Cincinnati. His breakout came as the Badgers’ top wideout in 2023, tallying 74 catches for 837 yards and six touchdowns. He was a tailored fit in Phil Longo’s air raid offense and quickly became quarterback Tanner Mordecai’s go-to target.

The veteran’s 2024 campaign was not as smooth. He missed several games with an injury and played through various ailments in the season’s final weeks. His year-to-year production was cut in half as a result. The team’s inconsistent quarterback play also contributed to the decline.

Pauling enters the portal with one year of eligibility remaining.

His move follows the Badgers’ string of portal additions. The two most noteworthy are quarterbacks Billy Edwards Jr. and Danny O’Neil, who project to enter 2025 as the team’s starter and backup, respectively.

Wisconsin has yet to make any transfer additions at wide receiver this offseason. The position is now a pressing need with both Pauling and C.J. Williams entering the portal.

For more on Wisconsin’s targets at the position, bookmark our transfer offer, visit and commitment tracker.

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Former Wisconsin wide receiver reenters transfer portal

Former Wisconsin wide receiver reenters transfer portal

Former Wisconsin Badgers and current UConn Huskies wide receiver Skyler Bell announced his intention to enter the transfer portal on Monday.

He does so after one year at UConn. He previously played for the Badgers from 2021-23 after joining the program as a three-star recruit in the class of 2021.

Related: Tracking Wisconsin football’s transfer portal offers, interests and commitments

Bell broke out for a career year at UConn in 2024. He totaled 47 catches, a team-high 783 receiving yards and four touchdowns. His emergence was a key part of the Huskies going 8-4 in Year 3 under coach Jim Mora.

Of note, much of that production came when paired with quarterback Nick Evers, another former Badger who transferred to UConn last offseason.

“Thank You UConn Nation for this past year,” Bell wrote on X. “I plan on entering the transfer portal.”

Bell recorded 69 catches, 755 yards and six touchdowns in three seasons with the Badgers. He was one of the team’s top options in 2022 before the arrival of Phil Longo’s air raid offense and a host of transfer receivers in 2023 dropped him down the depth chart.

The veteran receiver is one of several former Badgers receivers finding success at other destinations: Chimere Dike had a strong season at Florida and Keontez Lewis had a big year at Southern Illinois.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, is rebuilding its offense with new coordinator Jeff Grimes in place. The team recently landed multiple top transfer quarterbacks and one of the best tight ends in the country. Wide receiver is high on the updated list of roster needs.

For more on the Badgers’ pursuits, bookmark our transfer offer, visit and commitment tracker.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.