Wisconsin football's defense last season wasn't the problem. In fact, it was one of the better defensive units in the Big Ten. The offense was so bad, though, that the defense was put on a rowboat and thrown into the ocean to die in shark-infested waters. Or at least that's what every game felt like. The defense was able to hold its own and even fend off the sharks (most of the time), and much of that production is returning, especially in terms of tackles.
When looking at last year's stats ahead of this season, one of the stat categories that jumped off the page was the tackle leaders from last season. It may not be surprising to everyone, but the top two tacklers in 2025 are coming back. Let's look at the list of the top tacklers from 2026 and designate with bold those who are back for 2026.
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Top 2025 tacklers for the Wisconsin Badgers
1. Mason Posa: 58 tackles
2. Cooper Catalano: 56 tackles
3. Christian Alliegro: 49 tackles
4. Matthew Jung: 49 tackles
5. Austin Brown: 40 tackles
6. D'Yoni Hill: 39 tackles
7. Darryl Peterson III: 33 tackles
8. Mason Reiger: 32 tackles
9. Ricardo Hallman: 27 tackles
10. Tackett Curtis: 25 tackles
Three of the top-10 tacklers (top-5 really) from last season are coming back for 2026. Those three accounted for 163 tackles total. The other seven players on the list only accounted for 245 together. That's pretty strong returning numbers.
It's also a good sign that the majority of production left via graduation and loss of eligibility rather than transfer. Only Alliegro and Curtis on the above list are left for the portal, and both are due to the fact that freshmen passed and outproduced them on the depth chart. Some of those players above are signed to UDFA deals in the NFL right now and could find themselves playing on Sundays.
Now if we condense the list to only those players returning it looks a bit different. Let's dive into that.
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Top 2025 tacklers for Wisconsin who are back in 2026
1. Mason Posa: 58 tackles
2. Cooper Catalano: 56 tackles
3. Matthew Jung: 49 tackles
4. Sebastian Cheeks: 24 tackles
5. Omilio Agard: 22 tackles
That's a pretty solid list, and you can assume all five of those players will only see their production increase. Posa and Catalano will get a full season under their belt instead of sparse snaps to start the season, followed by a ton by the end. Jung will be starting at safety, Cheeks is set to take the reins on the edge, and Agard has a bunch of competition at corner, but he should see plenty of snaps.
It's hard to predict how that top-10 list will end after 2026, but if Posa and Catalano stay healthy, it will be hard to knock them off of No. 1 and No. 2. The rest will be filled with new names and faces, or at least players who were more buried on the depth chart last season.
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