Wisconsin, on day two of the transfer portal, already has three commitments, but it's the third one that's the biggest one yet. Luke Fickell has convinced Abu Sama III from Iowa State to come and be part of the running back stable at Wisconsin. He's listed as the 11th-best running back in the portal according to 24/7 Sports. Now, he's joining the fold for the Badgers.
BREAKING: ABU SAMA has committed to WISCONSIN, he tells @Badger247
— Nick Osen (@TheRealNickOsen) January 4, 2026
“I am ready to give it my all!”https://t.co/IbAFh3wNip pic.twitter.com/LzU1YzYNgp
Wisconsin has landed Abu Sama III from Iowa State out of the transfer portal
Related:Wisconsin football transfer portal tracker: Who's out, in, and the speculation
Sama III is one of the best running backs in the portal and will still have one season left to play for the Badgers. He never used his redshirt as a true freshman because he came in ready to dominate, and he was named to the 247Sports True Freshman All-America Team.
As a junior, this last season, he had 140 carries for 732 yards with five rushing touchdowns. While he wasn't used a ton out of the backfield as a receiver, he did have seven catches for 51 yards, with one reception that went for 21 yards.
This is the biggest pickup so far out of the portal for Luke Fickell. It's only the third, and it's been proven that Fickell isn't messing around to upgrade the roster. Sama III joins safety Carson Van Dinter and tight end Jacob Harris as the other two commits from this weekend (and even the day).
The portal has just opened, the weekend has just started, and it seems as if there may be more even coming today and tomorrow, but much more throughout the rest of the portal period. Fickell needs to replace so many more players, and many of them need to be starters and top-tier ones at that, if he expects the Badgers to compete in the Big Ten next year.