Although the NCAA transfer portal doesn’t officially open until December 9th, many of the early dominoes are starting to fall in terms of departures from programs across the country.

Wisconsin is no exception. The Badgers have already seen significant departures: 13 players have announced their intention to enter the portal, and the number is increasing. What’s notable is that all of the Badgers’ defensive backs from the 2023 cycle are gone, leaving just five scholarship players from that class.

It’s likely that more players will leave Madison before the dust settles, but let’s take a look at the early departures and evaluate the “sting factor,” or how much each loss hurts the program Scale from 1-10.

Cole LaCrue‘s departure hurts Wisconsin in the sense that it loses some depth at quarterback, but that’s the extent of the problem because that’s probably all LaCrue would ever do in Madison.

The quarterback was injured this offseason and was also sidelined several times during the regular season. However, he had already been overtaken by a true newcomer Mabrey Mettauer On the depth chart, he was extremely unlikely to see snaps, healthy or not.

Wisconsin is expected to bolster the quarterback position this offseason with one, if not two, additions to the transfer portal. Therefore, the departure of the former three-star quarterback is not a major sacrifice.

It’s hard to lose a veteran player with starting experience, but Leon Lowery was disappointing in his first season with the Badgers. From his starting spot on the edge, he registered 29 tackles and a sack on 11 pressures.

Simply put, that’s not nearly enough production for a starting outside linebacker in this defense. Not that his fellow pass rushers performed much better, but Lowery wasn’t a game-wrecker and couldn’t make a consistent impact. It would have been nice to see if the former Syracuse linebacker could develop with another year in the program, but Lowery still only had one year of eligibility left.

That hurts a little. Amare Snowden was a huge asset to the program when he signed on as head coach Luke Fickell as a Rivals250 recruit back in the 2023 class. Snowden was a true 6-foot-1 cornerback with lanky arms and long strides and was considered a prototypical frontier corner. However, he barely managed to get on the field in his two seasons in Madison. He took a redshirt year in 2023 and was surpassed on the depth chart by a true freshman Xavier Lucas in 2024.

Although he only played three snaps with Wisconsin (in the blowout win over Purdue this season), his potential departure is likely one of many, if not one The Biggest blow from the exodus of defensive backs in 2023.

That’s an interesting thing. The staff seemed to be in high esteem Jonas Duclona as a true freshman who inserted him into several regular-season games and had him play 20 snaps in the ReliaQuest Bowl against LSU. Then, in 2024, he played just 12 snaps, all of which came in one game (Week 3 vs. Alabama).

Duclona showed his potential in practice, but we never saw enough of the cornerback in games to really know what we were missing. Once again, the emergence of newcomer Lucas slowed Duclona’s growth and development. His loss certainly hurts the depth of the room, and he was a sought-after player in high school with 34 offers. Still, it just shouldn’t be in Madison.

Justin TaylorLosing ‘s hurts a little more than other departures who haven’t played yet, especially because he had a versatile ability to man both the safety and corner spots in the secondary. Still, the staff clearly believed he wasn’t ready to play yet, as he redshirted in 2023 and played just four snaps in 2024.

Curt Neal’s departure marked the first significant starter to say goodbye to the Badgers. Although he only recorded 30 tackles and couldn’t do much damage as a starter, Wisconsin remains thin on defense and Neal was one of the few players trusted to play regularly.

Neal appeared to be playing out of position at times as, at 6-foot-3 and weighing 290 pounds, he seemed better suited to the role of defensive end than the role of defensive tackle, whose primary job is to defend Midline clog and eat up blockers. Too often Neal was targeted by bigger offensive players.

A schematic change would likely need to be made for Neal to increase his impact in Madison, but still, losing an experienced starter in a room that already has a position where he’s needed isn’t ideal.

Jace Arnold is another 2023 defensive back and was a reserve corner, often playing in the same lineup as fellow 2023 cornerback Duclona in practice. He didn’t see any time as a true freshman, playing a total of 11 snaps against Purdue and Northwestern in 2024. Again, Arnold’s path to playing time was marred by Lucas’ emergence, but with the expected departure of at least one of Wisconsin’s starting corners, opportunities arose for the young Georgia native.

Braedyn Moore He was probably next at safety, and that hurts, especially considering both starters are in the starting lineup Hunter Wohler And Preston Zachman are expected to exit the program this offseason. Moore had similar versatility to both players, showing in practice the ability to line up in the box, slot and back end. We will miss him Alex Grinch‘s room.

Trech Kekahuna is Wisconsin’s toughest loss in the transfer portal to date. The wideout has been incredibly underused this fall, especially considering he had opportunities (eight scores against Purdue) but delivered (six catches for 134 yards and two scores). Overall, the slot receiver recorded 25 catches for 339 yards and two touchdowns this season.

Kekahuna’s talent was extremely obvious. He is very elusive in the open field and probably had the best hands on the team. With three seasons of eligibility remaining, he will be very happy to have a good passing attack.

Although Nate White didn’t log a snap, his loss registering as a low but not entirely negligible three-pointer because he had the potential to provide Wisconsin with much-needed depth at slot receiver.

After it became clear that White wouldn’t make an impact at running back, especially with a three-tailback class in 2024 – all of which appeared to overtake White in the pecking order – the staff moved him to the receiver room. A former scatback who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 182 pounds, White was considered a slot receiver who could potentially help fill a growing void in that department for the Badgers.

This one doesn’t really move the needle. Mullens didn’t play during his time at Wisconsin, and the former walk-on should be even further buried in the depth chart as the Badgers introduced five consecutive classes of offensive linemen in 2024 and 2025.

James Thompson Jr. was considered Wisconsin’s best defensive lineman before a preseason injury sidelined him for virtually the entire 2024 season (except for seven snaps at Nebraska). During his career with the Badgers, he recorded 58 total tackles, five sacks and two pass breakups.

Thompson has one more season of eligibility due to his ability to medically redshirt in 2024, and the fact that he won’t spend that in Madison hurts the Badgers. This defensive line still needs to be rebuilt, but it hurts to lose the (theoretically) best player at a position where he’s needed when he could have returned for another season to try to anchor the trenches.

Here too, any defeat in a weak defense is a tough pill to swallow. Weber, the first member of Wisconsin’s 2024 class to jump ship, was a three-star recruit and the No. 32 ranked player in Tennessee. Still, he didn’t play a snap in his actual freshman season, so it’s hard to say what he did or didn’t bring to the table in the years afterward.

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