The Wisconsin Badgers are now down an important depth piece in their cornerback room with redshirt freshman Jay Harper entering the transfer portal today. Harper sat out all last season and was expected to be a little bit more involved this year but instead is looking for a new situation via the portal.
Wisconsin cornerback Jay Harper is entering the transfer portal, Lionheart Sports Agency tells @On3sports.https://t.co/VxSGJETKD9 pic.twitter.com/zNQ2xGHVP8
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) April 23, 2025
Wisconsin defensive back Jay Harper has entered the transfer portal
Jay Harper has yet to take a snap at the college level but has decided to look for a different opportunity elsewhere after the spring practices. He wasn't slated to be a starter this year but potentially would see some rotational minutes at defensive back, especially with the depth at the position not being overly full.
The Badgers currently have only seven cornerbacks listed on the roster for the 2025 season, excluding Harper. Jahmare Washington, as an early enrollee, is not currently listed as a cornerback, so it will be at least eight when the roster is more finalized.
Spring may have shown Harper that he was going to be doing less playing than he anticipated on the season and will look for more of a starter role elsewhere. It may have even been passed up on the depth chart to other players like even early enrollee Jahmare Washington.
Harper was rated as a 3-star recruit out of Valley, Alabama and chose Wisconsin over Tennesee, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Texas A&M, Missouri, among many other programs that offered him out of high school. It's challenging to predict how he will transition to a new program in the portal when his tape is still from high school only. It also doesn't always help programs get excited about grabbing a player out of the portal that couldn't crack the depth chart in a similar situation. It will be interesting to see where he lands.