Wisconsin lineman Jake Renfro has announced his decision to seek a medical hardship waiver and pursue his sixth year of college football. That's the most surprising part of this all, he should be graduating but instead he's headed to the transfer portal instead.
There's another angle of surprise for the Badgers: he has been a Luke Fickell player through and through. He came with Luke Fickell from Cincinnati, and despite changes at his position coach multiple times, he remained loyal to Fickell. He's now going to try his hand with a new coach, finally.
Thank you Wisconsin🦡 pic.twitter.com/dfb2ls8do2
— Jake Renfro 5️⃣7️⃣ (@JakeRenfro_) December 11, 2025
Jake Renfro has decided to use a medical hardship to transfer for his 6th season
Related: Wisconsin football transfer portal tracker: Who's out, in, and the speculation
How did he get six years, you may ask? Well, with a redshirt season, you already get five; if you get approval for a medical redshirt, that's a sixth. Renfro was barely able to play this season due to an injury, and can use that to apply for the waiver and pursue his final opportunity at a new university.
He may not be the only Wisconsin player who pursues this route. You have to imagine that Billy Edwards Jr. will also look for a medical hardship waiver to pursue an extra year of play. However, there's nothing that makes you think Edwards will stay with Wisconsin. This means that Edwards will follow Renfro's lead and head for the portal if he does indeed do this.
For Wisconsin and Renfro, the hiring of a new offensive line coach, Eric Mateos, he will be working to bring in new guys that fit his system. He rebuilt an offensive line through the portal last season at Arkansas, and now he will need to do it again at Wisconsin. This is the first domino, even if it was unexpected for him to stay anyway.