Wisconsin has been on a transfer portal blitz over the last few weeks. Luke Fickell, along with every other coach in the sport, is required to act fast if he has any hope of improving the roster entering 2024 and, in many cases, make up for the players that were lost.
One of the biggest areas of needed improvement is at defensive line. Wisconsin’s schedule is only getting tougher, and with those games comes a greater need a dominating inside.
Signaling this, Fickell and his staff recently extended an offer to former Alabama transfer defensive lineman Anquin Barnes.
Barnes joined the Crimson Tide as a four-star recruit in the class of 2021. He was ranked as the No. 44 defensive lineman in the class and No. 16 recruit from the state of Alabama.
Despite the high billing, he appeared in only two games during his three years in Tuscaloosa: this past season against MTSU and Chattanooga.
Blessed to receive a offer from the University Of Wisconsin @Madhousefit pic.twitter.com/HQU568o2YD
— BIG QUIN(55)🦍 (@AnquinBarnes) December 14, 2023
Wisconsin is looking to replace the dependability and production of redshirt seniors Gio Paez and Rodas Johnson. While the line wasn’t necessarily dominant this past season, it wasn’t a massive weakness.
Fickell’s team will need reinforcements at that position, along with at linebacker and elsewhere if it wants to improve upon its 7-5 2023 record.