Everyone seems to be talking about the same position battles at Wisconsin for 2026. The running back room, the wide receivers, and even the backup quarterbacks. However, there's one position group that has open competition and no one seems to be talking about it, and it's pretty important. Wisconsin has to figure out the cornerback depth chart. There are plenty of options, but diving into the discussion doesn't make it easy to immediately figure out.
The roster has eight players listed at corner, and only one player is an upperclassman. The rest are redshirt sophomores or younger. The experience in the room is not high, but the ceiling certainly is. Of the eight corners, only none of them played any meaningful minutes for Wisconsin last year. This doesn't mean the room is devoid of experience. There are a few who have some experience at their former schools before transferring to Wisconsin.
Javan Robinson and Eric Fletcher Jr. come in with the most experience. Robinson was the starting cornerback for Arizona State last season and is the lone veteran in the room. Fletcher comes in from Oklahoma State as a 12-game starter, posting 11 tackles, 3 pass breakups, and 1.5 tackles for loss. So those two bring in some experience.
Wisconsin's most open competition may actually be the corner back room
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There are also some highly touted prospects at one point coming via the transfer portal. There's Bryce West and Cai Bates. Both were former 4-star recruits. West went to Ohio State and is now a redshirt sophomore for Wisconsin, and Bates came from Florida State and is also a redshirt sophomore. Each played in a limited capacity for their former schools.
We should also add the true freshmen of Donovan Dunmore and Carsen Eloms. Those two both show promise, but Eloms is a bit more ready due to his early enrollee status and being part of spring ball. Finally, there are two returners from last year, Jai'mier Scott and Jahmare Washington (both were 4-star recruits, and Washington was the No. 1 corner in the state of Illinois).
The competition is actually fairly wide open, and as much as everyone wants to pencil Fletcher and Robinson as starters due to the fact that they were starters last year in their previous schools. But it's not so easy. West, Bates, Scott, and Washington will all push them for a spot.
It's truly a fairly open competition, and unless the two true freshmen show they are ready, it may be a six-man rotation. Don't be surprised to see Robinson and West as the two outside corners with Fletcher, Bates, Washington, and Scott all finding their spot in the mix. However, until we see how it looks in the fall, it will be hard to tell.
The quarterback and wide receiver competitions are getting all the headlines, but don't look past the competition at corner. It's as open as any room on the roster, and the ceiling is incredibly high with a lot of 4-star talent that has yet to be seen on the field.
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