If you have lived under a rock for the past 12 months and compared the rosters of the 2022 and 2023 Wisconsin football teams, you might be in for a shock.
After Paul Chryst was fired and Chris McIntosh hired Luke Fickell, there was understandably going to be some turnover on the roster. But with the transfer portal in full effect, there was more than some turnover. There was a lot. The roster looks very different than it did just eight months ago.
Many will point to the quarterback position as the biggest change on the team. And they would probably be right. There is one player coming back that was on the team last year: Myles Burkett. Fickell and company brought in some heavy hitters through the portal, including the expected starter for 2023, Tanner Mordecai.
But while the quarterback room might have the most turnover, it might not have the talent.
Wide receiver is the deepest position on the Wisconsin football team
The Badgers have had plenty of talent in their receiver room for the past few years. But the offense and quarterback play hasn’t allowed the players to showcase their full abilities. Chimere Dike led the Badgers in receptions (47), yards (689), and touchdowns (six).
Those numbers don’t necessarily pop off the page. But putting Dike in Longo’s Air Raid offense should put him in a position to put up bigger numbers in his senior season. Giving Dike more opportunities in the passing game will produce more plays like this.
Skyler Bell, who was second in all three receiving categories behind Dike last year, is also returning. The shifty receiver played a lot of slot for the Badgers last year. That spot, however, is expected to be occupied by Will Pauling. Pauling is a transfer player who followed Fickell to Wisconsin from Cincinnati. At the time, his transfer was just another player following Fickell. But he has been playing in the slot with the first-team offense since the jump at spring camp. He has been making plays nonstop since camp started.
So what’s the plan for Bell? I don’t think he needs to be pigeon-holed into that one position. He is a guy who can probably play multiple spots within this offense. Do you think you can keep a guy who does this off the field?
The Badgers are also returning Keontez Lewis, who transferred into the Wisconsin football program last year. Lewis was third in all three receiving categories behind Dike and Bell. But with the additions made through the transfer portal, it’s going to be hard to see Lewis getting as much playing time as last year.
The Badgers used the transfer portal effectively to revamp the group
The group got a bit of a facelift via the transfer portal as well. The team made a few major additions adding talent that this program is not used to getting. First off, C.J. Williams transferred in from USC. As a recruit, Williams was the 10th-ranked receiver in the 2022 class according to the 247Sports composite rating. As a freshman at USC, Williams played in 11 games, catching four passes for 34 yards.
Another key addition was Bryson Green from Oklahoma State. Green is a player Longo has been after since high school. He finally got his guy when Green entered the transfer portal after last season. Unlike Williams, Green got a lot of playing time while at his previous school. In his two seasons, Green played in 17 games tallying 48 receptions for 723 yards and seven touchdowns.
Even though he missed spring ball, Green has been a force at fall camp, making plays like this.
And then there’s the aforementioned Will Pauling. The slot receiver has a chance to be a huge part of this offense as the slot usually put up big numbers in Longo’s offense. Pauling is one of, if not the fastest receivers on the roster.
I think Pauling is in store for a huge season in Madison. Dike, Williams, Green, and Bell will all garner a lot of attention, but Pauling could end up leading the team in receptions.
This is an incredibly deep and talented group. Wisconsin football has had some players with a hell of a lot of talent. But I don’t think they’ve ever had this amount of skill and depth at one time. I may be getting ahead of myself, but there is certainly a lot of reason for optimism.
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