The bad news keeps coming as Wisconsin lost another player to the transfer portal. This time it’s defensive lineman James Thompson Jr., who is leaving the club with one more year of eligibility, according to Matt Zenitz.

Thompson Jr. missed almost the entire season with a pectoral injury, but was one of the Badgers’ better defensive lineman in previous years. He returned to play a few snaps against Nebraska this season but did not record any tackles or sacks. Thompson has 58 career tackles and five sacks and will now finish his final season elsewhere.

The redshirt senior is now the second defensive lineman to enter the portal this week, joining Curt Neal, and the 11th Badger overall. It’s a problematic trend, and now Luke Fickell and Co. will have to replace two starters on the defensive line before the 2025 season. The group was already thin, and with Thompson Jr.’s departure the need becomes even greater.

Wisconsin signed its 2025 class today and will add some strong talent to the roster, but there will still be a lot of work to do in the portal for Fickell to replace the departing players.