After losing 23 players to the transfer portal, the Badgers acted swiftly and brought in a staggering 30 players and counting. And while that number is impressive, there's another number that's equally discouraging.
Of the 30 transfers in, none of them rank higher than three stars according to 247Sports, giving Wisconsin just the 42nd-ranked class in the portal. So, although the class had featured some good fits and talented players, the lack of top-end transfers might hold the team back.
Did Luke Fickell and the Badgers do enough in the portal?
Related: Wisconsin football transfer portal tracker: Who's out, in, and the speculation
While rankings aren't everything, it is just a bit concerning that Wisconsin wasn't able to nab at least one four-star transfer. And obviously, with the number of players heading out the door, Luke Fickell and company had to go out and land a wild number of transfers, dampening their ability to land top-tier players.
But with all the new money promised this year, it still feels odd that there weren't a few higher-caliber players coming to Madison. And now with fewer than 10 four-star or better transfers left in the portal, the odds that Wisconsin adds a blue-chip type transfer now remain low.
Despite the rather disappointing ratings, it isn't all doom and gloom. The Badgers landed a QB1 who fits the system like a glove in Colton Joseph, a new starting receiver in Shamar Rigby, and a dynamic running back in Abu Sama III. There's plenty more talent that can come in and contribute, and believe me, they'll need to, but the class lacks many true program-changing additions, at least on the surface.
Wisconsin will likely feature at least eight or nine new starters on offense, and at least six on defense. It's probably not the worst thing that a four-win team revamps nearly the entire roster, but with all the change, the question that remains is whether the team is actually improved.