Badger of Honor
Fansided

Wisconsin Football: Kyle Penniston finds a new home

By Christian Borman

MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 17: Kyle Penniston #49 of the Wisconsin Badgers scores a touchdown while being guarded by Bobby Baker #2 of the Georgia State Panthers in the fourth quarter at Camp Randall Stadium on September 17, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 17: Kyle Penniston #49 of the Wisconsin Badgers scores a touchdown while being guarded by Bobby Baker #2 of the Georgia State Panthers in the fourth quarter at Camp Randall Stadium on September 17, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Former Wisconsin football tight end Kyle Penniston has found a new home, and it’s in the same conference.

MADISON, WI – SEPTEMBER 17: Kyle Penniston #49 of the Wisconsin Badgers makes a catch while being guarded by Jameel Spencer #38 of the Georgia State Panthers in the fourth quarter at Camp Randall Stadium on September 17, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI – SEPTEMBER 17: Kyle Penniston #49 of the Wisconsin Badgers makes a catch while being guarded by Jameel Spencer #38 of the Georgia State Panthers in the fourth quarter at Camp Randall Stadium on September 17, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Back in January, redshirt junior Kyle Penniston decided to leave the Wisconsin football program. He entered the NCAA transfer portal and sat there for quite a while. There were other players in the portal who were committing to new teams. It made me wonder if Penniston would ever find a new home or if he was going to decide to come back to Wisconsin.

On Tuesday, we got our answer. Penniston took to Twitter to announce his decision to transfer to Rutgers, another Big Ten team. According to 247 Sports transfer portal tracker, Penniston will have immediate eligibility with the Scarlet Knights, who the Badgers do not play next season.

Penniston came into Wisconsin as a highly rated recruit. He was a  four-star tight end out of Mater Dei High School in California. When he joined the Wisconsin football program, he had to sit behind Troy Fumagalli for two years and was then passed up by redshirt freshman Jake Ferguson as the starting tight end.

When Wisconsin signed Penniston, I thought he had a chance to be Wisconsin’s next great tight end behind the likes of Owen Daniels, Lance Kendricks, and Troy Fumagalli, but he never quite got on the field. During his time as a part of the Wisconsin football team, he totaled 16 receptions, 176 yards, and 4 touchdowns.

Wisconsin’s tight end depth takes a bit of a hit, especially if Ferguson were to go down with an injury next season. Behind him is Luke Benzschawel, Gabe Lloyd, and Jack Eschenbach as well as incoming freshman Hayden Rucci and Clay Cundiff.

Penniston’s exit will surely provide more opportunities for the younger tight ends to get on the field. Keep an eye out this year for Rucci or Cundiff to see the field a bit this coming season.

Next. 10 best Badgers games since 2010. dark

All statistics are courtesy of sports-reference.com.