The Badgers lost a key pair of transfer to the portal this week, just months after they initially committed to the program. Both tight end Tanner Koziol and wide receiver Mark Hamper, who signed with Wisconsin in December, have already bolted to the transfer portal again. It's a move that hasn't sat well with fans, or the head man himself.
Fickell doubles down on comments surrounding recent transfers
Last week, without directly addressing anyone by name, head coach Luke Fickell made comments about how football, and specifically football at Wisconsin, is a grown man's game and not for everybody. Today on ESPN's Wilde and Tausch, he doubled down on those comments by saying it's too easy for college players to take the easy way out if the going get's tough.
"We have made it a little to bit to easy to take easy route," said Fickell. "It's become so much easier to find a way to go another direction....right now in college athletics we've made a little bit easier to say 'This might not be working for you let's find another place.'"
When asked more directly about the players transferring out before ever suiting up for Wisconsin, Fickell hinted that he was fine with the players leaving if they weren't willing to buy into the program.
"In order for those guys to go, it had to be a mutual thing," Fickell explained. "But as a program, I don't want to find out August 28th or September in Tuscaloosa that they don't love what they're doing, they aren't committed to their teammates, this is too much for them. I guess it's better you find that out now, so that you can continue to develop the people that deep down inside have it."
Fickell is still clearly frustrated with not only the players, but the rules that have allowed to leave after just two weeks of practice. Ultimately, getting the right guys onto the team is the goal, but with such short transfer windows it's not always easy to find the right fit. In this case, things didn't work out, but as Fickell said, at least he that found out in spring and not this fall.