The water is flowing above Luke Fickell’s head. Wisconsin stumbled to 5-7 in 2024, then sank further to 4-8 last season. So, right now, Fickell’s only lifeline to keep himself floating is by winning the program’s trust. The Badgers’ head coach, thus, went desperate this transfer season to build a strong roster. 

“I don’t know if they spent the most, but certainly Wisconsin surprised some people,” the ACC source told On3. “They told at least four or five kids we were involved with that, ‘Just give us a chance, we will be your highest number.”

On3’s Pete Nakos came up with his findings of the top spenders this transfer season. While the LSU Tigers’ new head coach, Lane Kiffin, went full throttle, Fickell, too, earned the spotlight with his efforts. As per On3’s 2026 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings, Fickell’s program stands at No.15. Unlike most of the programs in the list, the Badgers have landed more players from the portal than they have lost. 

Fickell’s desperate move helped them bring home 33 players, while 23 players from Wisconsin chose to test the water somewhere else. Wondering how they pulled off a plan, wooing almost three dozen players from different teams to Wisconsin?

Fickell’s program’s director of football administration, Monique Felix, laid out the multi-layered, behind-the scenes process. During the January grind, counting hours stopped making sense to her. The work ran until it was done. 

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“But I think this kind of a job in a season where even if you’re not in the office, or I have a workstation at home, it’s kind of 24/7 being on call,” Felix said. “I got texts (at) 9, 10, even 11 o’clock at night about different transfers who are coming in the next morning as they were finalizing schedules.

While the transfer portal window is crucial, the actual work starts way before it. Before Fickell greenlighted an official visit, transcripts had to clear the desk. Felix said those came from staff, Wisconsin director of on-campus recruiting Taylor Ewald, or straight from the NCAA Eligibility Center. So, at the end, it’s the teamwork that gave the Badgers the momentum. 

“If you can’t find a way to come together as a team, then you’re going to struggle, no matter how much talent you have,” said Fickell. “And so that kind of was the start of Tuesday, of saying, ‘Hey, everybody had a choice. Everybody chose to be here, to be Wisconsin Badgers.’”

Definitely, the teamwork paid off as Fickell and his team signed six players who were consensus four-star recruits coming out of high school. Some of them are wide receiver Malachi Coleman, offensive lineman Lucas Simmons, and cornerback Bryce West, among others. 

Fickell’s move reminds us of how former Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Scott Frost was desperate to save his job back in 2022. He was standing on slippery ground, 15-29 in four years. However, the move could not save Frost’s job as Nebraska fired him the same year, in September. Is the same fate awaiting Fickell?

Luke Fickell invites a pressure situation for himself 

Extensions rolled in across college football as Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire and Indiana’s Curt Cignetti extended their contracts. However, Fickell took a different route. The Wisconsin head coach asked not to receive the standard one-year bump from the athletic board. Instead, he let improved results in 2026 do the talking.

Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh told ESPN that Fickell personally asked to keep an extension off the table. Fickell already picked up one-year add-ons in 2023 and 2024, with his deal now locked in through March 2032.

“I respect his request and determined that the current terms of Luke’s contract will be maintained,” McIntosh said in the statement. “Luke is completely focused on a successful 2026 campaign. There is no one more competitive than Luke, and he holds himself to the highest standards.”

As Fickell chooses the prove-it path, who is stepping up to help him win that challenge? Some of the portal signees to keep eyes on are cornerback Javan Robinson and quarterback Colton Joseph, among others. 

A workhorse in the secondary, Robinson earned near-elite tackler honors from PFF, backed by an 84.4 tackling grade. Similarly, the quarterback was Old Dominion’s rushing weapon, coming up with 1,007 rushing yards. He is a dual-threat talent who is often counted on not just for scrambling for yards, as he came up with 13 touchdowns. 

Will this transfer haul be enough to keep Luke Fickell afloat, or did he bite off more than he can chew?