The Badgers are losing arguably their most valuable player to the transfer portal.
In perhaps the biggest news yet, Wisconsin Badgers star freshman cornerback Xavier Lucas is entering the transfer portal.
Lucas, a four-star freshman in the Class of 2024, was a major commitment for Wisconsin, as they had pried the Florida native away from his home state, where the Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes were both strongly pursuing the cornerback.
Joining the Badgers in the summer, Lucas immediately showed off his talent, as his track speed, size, length, and ability in man coverage all flashed, leading to him being a part of the two-deep as a freshman.
Lucas began to earn playing time as early as Week 1, when he notched a highlight-reel interception in the fourth quarter. From there, he started to earn some significant playing time, although a few injuries took him out of the defensive rotation near the end of the season.
Lucas did play a season-high 56 snaps against Nebraska, and was expected to take over the full-time starting boundary role with Nyzier Fourqurean out of eligibility this upcoming season.
His departure is not only a huge loss for next season, as Wisconsin has another hole to fill in the secondary, but also for the future, as Lucas was expected to be a mainstay defensively at the boundary position for the next 2-3 years.
A player with true NFL potential, Lucas will now take his three years of eligibility elsewhere.