The Badgers have had some tough losses to the transfer portal thus far this offseason.
The Wisconsin Badgers have been one of the busiest teams in the transfer portal, as they’ve seen 25 players exit the door to go elsewhere, while bringing in 13 commits of their own thus far, marking for one of the top transfer classes in the country.
However, they still have a number of holes to fill, so let’s evaluate all of their losses in the transfer portal thus far, rating them from 1-10 based on the sting factor of how much that departure hurts.
Let’s start with the team’s first wave of transfers.
QB Cole LaCrue: 1
This move felt like it was expected this offseason, as injuries had hampered LaCrue over his two seasons in Madison, leading to minimal practice time and others leaping him on the depth chart.
Sure, you could make the argument that the Badgers needed the numbers, but he wasn’t a Luke Fickell recruit and didn’t seem to have much of a future at Wisconsin.
OLB Leon Lowery: 3
Lowery was one of the top transfers that Wisconsin landed a season ago, coming in to start at outside linebacker. He was a disappointment, as he failed to generate much of an impact, with his commitment fiasco being the most notable aspect of his time in Madison.
His departure hurted more, given the numbers game at outside linebacker, but he wasn’t a very impactful player on Wisconsin’s defense in 2024.
CB Amare Snowden: 5
This was one of the bigger moves early in the transfer portal, as Snowden was a former four-star recruit who had followed head coach Luke Fickell from Cincinnati.
But, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t as big of a loss as his recruiting profile may indicate. Snowden was looking for playing time and hadn’t shown enough over his first two offseasons to warrant earning significant reps on the boundary, especially working behind Xavier Lucas.
The Badgers did lose some of their numbers with the move, but it wasn’t too significant a loss, given what we had seen thus far from his play in the offseasons. There were also questions about how well Snowden truly fit in the defense with his average to below-average athleticism.
CB Jonas Duclona: 6
Similar to Snowden, Duclona transferred out due to a lack of playing time, as the sophomore cornerback didn’t see the number of snaps he probably would’ve hoped for at the field position behind Ricardo Hallman.
While Duclona had shown some promise being in the two-deep at corner over his first two seasons, this move felt logical with Ricardo Hallman expected back. At 5’10, 185 pounds, it felt Duclona may have been a better fit in the slot, although he wasn’t the best run defender.
It’s a bigger loss because he had a clearer path to playing time, but Duclona was replaceable as well when it came to that backup field position spot when considering his current level of play, hence why this rating isn’t higher.
S Justin Taylor: 3
The Badgers continued to lose members of their 2023 recruiting class, with safety Justin Taylor heading out after two seasons as well. Ultimately, the move hurt because of the loss of numbers at the position, which saw a ton of movement this offseason, but Taylor was buried on the depth chart behind other players, making his decision to leave logical.
He was on the smaller side at safety, which may have made him a better fit for the nickel role in the future, but really didn’t see much playing time in the offseasons at Wisconsin, primarily rotating in with the third-team defense.
DL Curt Neal: 8
This was the first major loss for the Badgers, as Neal was a starter this past season after flashing with his play back in 2023 as a rotational defensive lineman.
Neal cited the system as a reason for his departure, as he wasn’t able to be aggressive enough, which is important for a smaller interior defensive lineman like himself.
Is he a star-level player? No. But, in today’s world, defensive line depth comes at a premium price, and the Badgers already didn’t have much going into the offseason. So, losing a player like Neal certainly stings, as the team lost a very playable rotational piece.
CB Jace Arnold: 6
Arnold is in the same boat as Duclona as a player who transferred out due to the desire for more playing time.
The duo played the same position as the field cornerback working behind Ricardo Hallman, but were stuck behind RJ Delancy as well this past season.
Arnold has flashed at times, but he’s a smaller cornerback and wasn’t going to be a starter this season, while the backup role wasn’t even guaranteed, considering the competition at the position.
Losing the depth hurts, but it also wasn’t as significant a loss, considering Wisconsin has Ricardo Hallman, while the transfer portal could provide a replaceable boost as well.
S Braedyn Moore: 9
Of this group, this loss hurt the most for the Badgers.
Braedyn Moore was one of my top risers of the offseason, as the redshirt freshman looked ready to play with increased physicality, a desire to hit and tackle, and great athleticism manning the backend as a free safety.
The playing time wasn’t there this past season working behind Hunter Wohler, Preston Zachman, and Austin Brown, but there was a starting spot for Moore available in 2025, which could’ve allowed him to blossom into a breakout player this upcoming season.
It’s unclear exactly why Moore left, but as a Luke Fickell recruit who initially committed to Cincinnati as a four-star back in 2023, this one really stings.
RB/WR Nate White: 1
For White, it’s a numbers game, as the running back was even moved to wide receiver back in the fall due to the overabundance of backs on the team.
The Badgers had ample depth at running back and White wasn’t going to crack the rotation in 2025, as he was the team’s sixth running back behind the trio of freshmen, Cade Yacamelli, and Jackson Acker.
At receiver, the picture to enter the rotation wasn’t much clearer either, even with Wisconsin losing some pieces, so it made sense for the Green Bay native to transfer.
White had some intriguing speed as a running back who could hit the edge, which may be intriguing to other teams on his practice film.