Grading Badger Football Spring Portal Activity

After a somewhat disappointing 7-6 season, Luke Fickell and the Badgers will look to rebound this year. There's been a lot of activity this spring in the portal with players both leaving and coming in. So how does the team's body of work grade so far?

The Badgers have lost seven players to the portal this spring but luckily none were significant contributors in 2023. The biggest name, quarterback Nick Evers, was pretty much competing for third string behind Tyler Van Dyke and Braedyn Locke. TJ Bollers, an outside linebacker, also entered his name into the portal but Wisconsin brought in a lot of talent at edge this winter, so he was probably set up for another year on special teams. The Badgers lost a few other reserve players but really nothing to be too concerned about. Overall, Fickell and company did a nice job retaining players. Grade: A-

Wisconsin has landed three incoming transfers in the spring portal so far. Vanderbilt's Leyton Nelson and Illinois' Joey Okla will both be decent offensive line depth pieces and each player still has several years eligibility left. The newest commit, Boston College receiver Joseph Griffin Jr., is a nice get for the Badgers and has a real possibility to start on the outside along with Bryson Green. Wisconsin is still in need for some defensive line help and this grade will significantly jump if they can snag a solid transfer there. Grade: B-

Overall, the Badgers have done a solid job in the portal this spring. They didn't lose any elite talent which is key, but so far haven't set the world on fire with incoming transfers either. If Fickell can bring in a key piece along the defensive line their offseason could easily bump up to an A grade. But for now, Grade: B/B+