Wisconsin Football in Contact with FCS Transfer Portal Linebacker

For the Wisconsin football program to succeed on defense under the new direction of Luke Fickell and coordinator Mike Tressel, they will need more dynamic athletes, especially at the linebacker spots.

The newest name that has surfaced on their board is Youngstown State inside linebacker Alex Howard, he confirmed to BadgerNotes.com.

The Ohio native is someone I’ve been told that Coach Tressel really likes — and will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Wisconsin Football in Contact With FCS Transfer Portal Linebacker.

Wisconsin football coaches endured a season full of bizarre shuffling at the inside linebacker spot between Maema Njongmeta, Jordan Turner, and Jake Chaney — partly because they were thumpers in a scheme that values athleticism and ability to move in space.

Alex Howard has 38 career games worth of experience for Youngstown State — and has registered 142 tackles, 15.5 TFLs, five sacks, five pass deflections, a forced fumble, and an interception. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker was also the Penguin’s highest-graded player in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus (82.4 Good+).

Howard is known as a sound tackler and would likely be an asset in run support for a Wisconsin football team that is still determining if Njongmeta will use his extra season of eligibility, and very few young players pushing for spots in the two deep other than Christian Alliegro.

It’s also worth noting that Tate Grass, who has been a reserve inside linebacker the past few seasons, has exhausted his eligibility, making it even more important the Badgers add a body or two to the LB room.

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