Ranking 15 Wisconsin football transfers: Which newcomers are most crucial to 2023 season?

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin football is going to look a whole lot different when the Badgers take the field for their season opener next Saturday against Buffalo. And not simply because there’s a new coaching staff with new schemes and terminologies.

The roster underwent a significant makeover this offseason thanks to the transfer portal, where Wisconsin added 15 scholarship players for the 2023 season (that does not include freshman punter Atticus Bertrams, who wasn’t in the portal because he never enrolled at USC last season due to a back injury).

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Many of those 15 transfers have an opportunity to significantly shape the beginning of the Luke Fickell era. Let’s rank each of them on their expected impact this season based on preseason practices:

The success of Wisconsin’s season hinges on a number of factors, but it starts with how well Mordecai can lead this offense. He averaged 3,576 passing yards and 36 touchdowns in two seasons at SMU. If he comes anywhere near that level of production, he’ll be on the short list of greatest seasons by a Wisconsin quarterback, a list currently led by Russell Wilson in 2011. The competition will be much tougher in the Big Ten, but Mordecai has a pretty loaded arsenal at running back and wide receiver to work with this season.

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Offensive coordinator Phil Longo joked before preseason practices began that he loved slot receivers more than anyone other than his wife and kids because “they are typically one of the most productive positions in the offense.” Pauling, who caught 12 passes for 122 yards at Cincinnati last season, burst onto the scene this spring to take control of the No. 1 slot receiver role. Don’t be surprised if Pauling ends up leading the team in receptions because of his speed, catching ability and the way Longo wants to take advantage of mismatches over the middle.

Longo and Mordecai raved about Green’s physicality as a receiver before he had even participated in a full practice. Green, who missed the spring while recovering from shoulder surgery, certainly didn’t disappoint when he took the field this preseason. Quarterback Braedyn Locke said that if Green has man coverage, he’s open. That’s how it felt even when Green occasionally rose in the air 1-on-2 for jump balls. Green and USC transfer C.J. Williams play the same position, and they’re both going to earn plenty of snaps. But Green’s experience — he caught 48 passes for 723 yards and seven touchdowns the last two seasons at Oklahoma State — and skill set are hard to ignore.

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Maitre is a sixth-year senior who has 30 career starts. He looked every bit like a veteran from the moment spring practices began, immediately locking up the No. 1 slot corner role, with Alexander Smith and Ricardo Hallman on the outside. He is unafraid to compete with anyone. And his penchant for smack talk can get under the skin of opponents. Wisconsin is going to lean on him. His backup this preseason, walk-on Owen Arnett, has appeared in seven career games, primarily on special teams.

Huber has been underrated his entire career. He didn’t make the varsity football team until his senior year of high school. He didn’t earn a single college scholarship offer and went to Cincinnati as a walk-on. And he was among the least talked-about scholarship transfer portal additions for Wisconsin this offseason. Yet here he is, about to begin the season as the likely starting left guard. This comes one year after he started at right tackle for Cincinnati and finished with the highest run-blocking grade on the team, per Pro Football Focus. As teammate Jake Renfro said, “He is the hardest worker I’ve ever met in my life.”

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6. WR C.J. Williams (USC)

Williams was the star of the show during spring practices when he repeatedly torched Wisconsin’s defensive reserves while working with the second-team offense. He moved up to the first-team unit by the end of the spring. His snaps this season may be impacted by Green’s performance, but Williams is absolutely going to be a major piece to the offense. Wisconsin has never had a wide receiver corps like this. “It’s a competitive thing,” Williams said. “But it’s also really healthy.”

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7. K Nathanial Vakos (Ohio)

Vakos had a couple of disappointing performances early in the preseason but said on Monday that he had made 29 of his last 30 field goal attempts in practice. That’s the form Wisconsin’s coaches are counting on and the reason why they put Vakos on scholarship. Vakos made 22 of 27 field goal attempts for Ohio as a freshman last season, which included a 55-yarder. He has held off Nate Van Zelst, who made 11 of 14 field goals for the Badgers last season.

8. OL Jake Renfro (Cincinnati)

When the dust settled on Wisconsin’s transfer portal activity in January, I ranked Renfro as the second-most important transfer addition behind Mordecai. At the time, the expectation was that Renfro would be the starting center and therefore have the ball in his hands on every snap. It seemed like the perfect marriage with Wisconsin losing Joe Tippmann to the NFL Draft. But Renfro suffered a stress fracture in his right foot early in spring practices that sidelined him the rest of the way. He worked as the second-team center this preseason before sustaining another foot injury that Fickell said could keep him out three or four weeks. Renfro, a first-team All-AAC performer in 2021, missed last season at Cincinnati with a knee injury. As the injuries add up, it’s hard to know what to expect from Renfro and whether he’ll earn back the No. 1 center role that Tanor Bortolini has taken over.

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Pietrowski has some versatility in Mike Tressel’s defense. He can come off the edge as a standup outside linebacker but has the power and playmaking ability to stress offensive tackles with his hand in the ground as an extra defensive lineman in the dollar defense. Pietrowski played defensive end at Michigan State and ranked second on the team with 5.5 sacks two seasons ago. C.J. Goetz and Darryl Peterson should be the top outside linebackers when the Badgers put two at the position on the field. But Pietrowski is in the rotation, with Kaden Johnson and T.J. Bollers also fighting for snaps.

Unlike most of the other transfers, Fourqurean didn’t arrive at Wisconsin until the summer, which meant he had only a few weeks in preseason practices to show why he deserved to play. He did just that, bumping past freshman cornerback Jace Arnold for a spot with the second-team defense. Fourqurean, a Division II All-American, recorded 37 tackles, 14 pass breakups and four interceptions last season. He has been unfazed at the leap in competition this preseason and should be part of the rotation on the outside at cornerback.

Varner’s accomplishments at Temple last season were eye-opening: 12.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and first-team All-AAC recognition. He suffered a left-foot injury that kept him out of Temple’s last two games, as well as Wisconsin’s spring practices. Fickell has said he’d like to play eight defensive linemen, but there appears to be a pretty clear top four with Rodas Johnson, James Thompson Jr., Gio Paez and Isaiah Mullens. Ben Barten is another legitimate option. Varner has the explosiveness to be a part of the rotation but is still trying to stand out. He bulked up from 265 pounds last season to his listed weight this season of 275 pounds, which will help in the Big Ten.

12. WR Quincy Burroughs (Cincinnati)

In any other season at Wisconsin, Burroughs likely would be considered a rotational piece at wide receiver. That’s how impressive he was during stretches of practices over the spring and in preseason. But this is not any other season. Wisconsin has a solid top six at receiver, and Burroughs has generally worked with the third-team offense. He has been behind Chimere Dike and Keontez Lewis at his specific position, though he certainly could earn snaps in some capacity if coaches see fit.

Mack is a bit of a wild card here because Wisconsin has been waiting on him to gain a waiver from the NCAA to play this season due to Air Force Academy transfer rules. If he does not earn one, he’ll take a redshirt season and still have two years of eligibility remaining. Mack, who played in eight games with four starts last season at Air Force, earned second- and third-team snaps at cornerback during the preseason. But the primary corners on the outside with the second unit during open practices generally were Fourqurean and freshman Jonas Duclona.

Locke certainly looks like he’s the future at quarterback for Wisconsin. He has been the No. 2 behind Mordecai since the first spring practice and hasn’t been seriously challenged. But because we’re talking specifically about player impact this season, his figures to be minimal as long as Mordecai is healthy and effective. That’s a big if, considering the backup has been required at Wisconsin due to injury or ineffectiveness in nine of the last 11 seasons. If Locke is called upon, he’ll be ready.

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Any discussion about a battle between Locke and Evers for the backup quarterback job dissipated fairly quickly because of how well Locke took to the offense this spring. Evers’ talent as a passer and an athlete are undeniable. But he enters the season as the No. 4 quarterback behind Mordecai, Locke and Myles Burkett and still must show Longo that he can prepare well enough to earn more practice reps.

(Photo of Will Pauling: Mark Hoffman / USA Today)

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