Wisconsin Football Lands a Top-Ranked LB From the Portal

Say what you want about the transfer portal, but the Wisconsin football team has benefited from it.

They have pulled in multiple players from the portal already, but the Badgers may have just landed their biggest commitment yet, linebacker Tackett Curtis.

The former USC linebacker has committed to the Wisconsin Badgers.

BREAKING: Former USC LB Tackett Curtis has Committed to Wisconsin, he tells @on3sports

The 6’2 225 LB was the Top Available LB in the Transfer Portal 👀

Will have 3 years of eligibility remaining https://t.co/2NuFLANhjv pic.twitter.com/6j89x823Nd

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 9, 2024

Wisconsin Football Finally Gets Tackett Curtis to Madison

Curtis was one of, if not Wisconsin’s biggest targets in the 2023 recruiting cycle. The Badgers were in his final group before he ultimately committed to USC, crushing the hopes of many Wisconsin football fans, including mine.

As a prospect, Curtis was a 4-star prospect according to the 247Sports composite. He was the 108th-overall prospect and the 9th-ranked linebacker in the country. He would have easily been the Badgers’ top-rated prospect in the class.

But that’s the beauty of the transfer portal, there’s always another chance. Since he hopped in the portal on December 18th, there were a lot of Badger fans keeping their eyes on him.

In one season with the Trojans, Curtis played in 12 games, tallying 40 total tackles, two sacks, and two fumble recoveries.

Year 1⚔️! Time to Hunt💯 pic.twitter.com/fsQUuAea1g

— TACKETT CURTIS (@curtis_tackett) December 19, 2023

The addition of Tackett Curtis is the cherry on top of a beautiful overhaul that this Wisconsin coaching staff has done in the linebacking room.

The Badgers lost Jordan Turner and Aiden Vaughn to the transfer portal and Maema Njongmeta to the NFL Draft.

But they have since added Jahiem Thomas (Arkansas), Sebastian Cheeks (North Carolina), Jahsiah Galvan (North Iowa), John Pius (William & Mary), and Leon Lowry (Syracuse)  to the linebacking room. Those players alone already give this position a facelift. But adding Tackett Curtis potentially makes this group one of the best in the Big Ten heading into 2024.

The addition moves the Badgers into 11th in 247Sports’ transfer portal rankings.

Tackett Curtis is going to make this linebacking group even more athletic. This kid flies around the field. He and Hunter Wohler on the same side of the ball is going to make this Wisconsin defense extremely fun to watch.

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