First, you end the season with 7 losses and fail to crack the Bowl game. Now you are holding players hostage? The Luke Fickell era at Wisconsin Badgers is slowly falling apart. Wisconsin Badgers are having quite a time at the transfer portal. If we sit back and do a headcount, it’s safe to say that Fickell and his roster have been hit the hardest out of all the other Big 10 teams. Imagine going into the 2025 season after losing almost your entire QB room and DB room to the portal. How do you even survive this exodus? Oh yeah, what a great idea: Just don’t allow your players to hit the portal. This will work out fine, right?

“I still intend to transfer, but at the moment, Wisconsin is refusing to release me into the transfer portal.” Badgers’ CB Xavier Lucas dropped a massive expose on what’s going on in Wisconsin. Lucas alleged that despite him meeting all the NCAA requirements for the portal process, Wisconsin is still not allowing him to hit the portal and leave for a different school. This has to be one of the most desperate but disgusting attempts at keeping your players on the roster. If we were in Fickell’s shoes, we would’ve understood that losing some standout players like Lucas could really harm the program, but that doesn’t mean we gonna not put his name in the portal.

This CB went for 12 tackles and also got in 1 interception for the Badgers. As a freshman, his first season at Wisconsin was more than satisfactory, so it ain’t no wonder why he wants to try out his luck. From a legal perspective, if Fickell or anyone from the Badgers continues to tamper with Lucas’ portal options, then the only reliable/best solution would be to pursue legal action.

But then again, it makes things more muddy. See, as we pointed out before, Wisconsin hasn’t had the best time ever since the portal opened up. Fickell has gone on to mention that there has been a lot of tampering going on around. “I think every kid is being recruited right now,” Badgers HC had pointed out.

Once again, the crosshairs are on NIL deals, and “money” is used to lure players away. This ain’t something new. The entire Bryce Underwood scene already happened, and even though Underwood said he went to UM for “education”, we all know it was for the $10+ million deal. Regardless, all of these just sound like excuses coming from Fickell when you put it against what Lucas pointed out. Badgers out here are ruining the 2025 vision with one drama at a time.

Badgers transfer portal exodus

4 quarterbacks and 7 defensive backs. Yeah, not good. Not only did the Badgers lose their starting QB, Braedyn Locke, to the portal, but they also managed to fumble almost all of the other backups. Cole LaCrue, Mabrey Mettauer, and Tyler Van Dyke are all leaving.

Coming to the defense, well, Lucas ain’t the only one calling it quits. Jace Arnold, Jonas Duclona, Kamo’i Latu, Max Lofy, Amare Snowden, and Justin Taylor are all out and in the portal. Fickell and Co. even managed to fumble 3 WRs from their roster.

Will Pauling, the same dude who managed to snag a touchdown against the No.1 team in CFB (Oregon Ducks), has also called quits on Fickell’s dream of becoming the best program in the Big 10.

No Bowl Game? Check. Key players leaving? Check. Is Lucas’s lawsuit incoming? Yeah, gotta wait on that one.