Wisconsin football enters the 2025 season at somewhat of a crossroads.
Third-year head coach Luke Fickell has delivered program-best recruiting outputs over the last few cycles, finishing with consecutive top-25 classes. However, the Badgers are just 12-13 overall since the start of his tenure, headlined by a 5-7 2024 campaign, the program’s first non-bowl season since 2001.
The sport’s current transfer era confuses the classic saying, ‘Just wait until the coach gets his own players in the lineup.’ Wisconsin landed 15 transfers entering the 2023 season, another 16 entering 2024 and 15 so far this offseason. Not every addition was a starter, with several not even seeing game action with the program. But the transfer numbers and annual roster turnover reflect the sport’s current dynamic, where new coaches, for better or for worse, are expected to reload the team and win immediately.
In a vacuum, the Badgers appear in a strong position entering the 2025 season. Fickell overhauled the offensive side of the football, hiring coordinator Jeff Grimes and reshaping the team’s quarterback room. He also rebuilt the team’s front seven on defense, a unit that struggled mightily down the stretch of last season. Fickell’s work during the winter transfer window could become an igniting force as he looks to lead a program resurgence.
The problem, as has been documented, is that the team will face one of the toughest schedules in college football this season. The slate includes road games at Alabama, Michigan, Oregon, Indiana and Minnesota, plus home matchups against Iowa, Ohio State, Washington and Illinois. Even a return to bowl eligibility would mark a major victory.
As Wisconsin enters that 2025 campaign, it’s accurate to say that Fickell finally has ‘his guys’ leading the program, whether transfers or high school recruits. The…
Source link : https://badgerswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/badgers/football/2025/04/24/wisconsin-football-2025-depth-chart-paul-chryst-recruits/83246636007/
Author :
Publish date : 2025-04-24 14:57:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
