Buried in Luke Fickell's press conference about the Early Signing Day was a transfer portal update, and it's an important one. In various parts of his interview, he turned attention towards the portal, whether it was about the recruiting class being small or in how to upgrade the roster, the transfer portal was never far from his mind.
It was almost as if the Early Signing Day was a small part of a larger plan, which is exactly the news that Wisconsin fans want to hear. The transfer portal needs to be a win, a big win. One in which Luke Fickell and his staff upgrade up and down the roster. The talk of being in the top 1/3 of spending, the talk of Chris McIntosh saying the investment would be in improving the roster, has to come through. The portal will showcase it.
Luke Fickell indicates the Badgers will be aggressive in the transfer portal
Related: Former 4-star recruit is the second Badger to hit the portal
Luke Fickell may not have been as explicit as that, but he did lean into their plans for the portal at one point:
"The transfer portal is going to have to be one of those things that's going to be, probably, bigger than you have ever had and used before. As well as retaining the guys that you got in your program. You've got to invest and be able to make sure that, you know, the ones that you have here are the ones that you've got to be able to keep here."Luke Fickell
It's that first line that's the hook. "The transfer portal is going to be bigger than we've ever had." That's what fans needed to hear, but now, prove it. Luke Fickell says they plan to be aggressive in the portal and will be seeking to upgrade the roster. That's huge.
And if you missed it, he also said that they would definitely be seeking out a quarterback in the portal. While some fans are calling for Carter Smith to be developed, Fickell will not and doesn't have time to put all the eggs in that basket. He has to swing for the fences, and he probably needs a sure-fire backup too. As well as Smith developing.
The Badgers needed every scholarship quarterback on the roster this season. Fickell will not mess around next year.