Wisconsin Football Bolstered Its Secondary With a Top-Graded Transfer

One of the key focuses for the Wisconsin Badgers coaching staff this offseason was finding an experienced cornerback in the transfer portal to fill the nickel role on their football team.

Needing someone who could step into Jason Maitre’s starting role on defense, Wisconsin was able to land Toledo cornerback RJ Delancy.

The 6-foot, 185-pound cornerback played in 38 games across three seasons while at Toledo. During his junior season with the Rockets, Delancy registered 28 tackles, 10 pass deflections, and an interception.

Among transfer cornerbacks who relocated to Power 5 programs this offseason, the Florida native earned the second-highest grade (87.2), as reported by Pro Football Focus, trailing only Preston Hodge of Colorado.

Highest graded transfer Cornerbacks this off season🔒 pic.twitter.com/WEsr6S4C2P

— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 21, 2024

Delancy, who will play out his final season of eligibility with the Wisconsin football team, finished with the 11th-highest grade in the entire country among cornerbacks who played at least 20% of snaps in 2023. 

Wisconsin Football Expects RJ Delancy to Start Next Season 

If all goes according to plan, RJ Delancy will be the starting nickel cornerback in Mike Tressel’s defense with Ricardo Hallman and Nyzier Fourqurean out on the boundary.

Since spring practice concluded last season, Wisconsin football has completely overhauled its cornerback room. The hope is that the Badgers can establish a two-deep capable of earning meaningful snaps rather than relying so heavily on the starters.

Delancy finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of 87.2, which is considered elite by their grading metric, and only allowed nine catches on 24 targets in 228 coverage snaps last season.

His ability to serve as a plug-and-play starting cornerback with a myriad of experience will be invaluable for the Wisconsin football team this season while they develop some of the younger options for the future.

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