MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell sheepishly admitted that when he woke up early Wednesday morning, he briefly forgot it was the start of the early signing period. Even though he had been on the phone with a recruit late the previous night, it took a text message from director of recruiting Pat Lambert to snap him back into the moment and await calls from Class of 2025 signees.
Fickell could be forgiven for allowing his mind to wander. Because five days after Wisconsin’s season ended with a 24-7 loss to rival Minnesota that guaranteed a losing record and a missed bowl game for the first time in 23 years, he still had plenty on his plate.
Yes, Wisconsin signed 24 scholarship prospects in a 2025 class that ranks 24th in the 247Sports Composite. He stressed the importance of not losing sight of what this day meant to them and the program. But no matter how much Wednesday was about the future, it also was about the present and the issues Fickell is attempting to address.
“It’s a lot of excitement,” Fickell said of signing a new class. “And then in some ways, unfortunately, you’ve got to go back to the realities of what you’re continuing to deal with.”
“𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘽𝙖𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙧.” 🫶
It’s Wednesday, we’re (WI)red, and we’re going behind the scenes for National Signing Day.
Presented by @NicoletLaw pic.twitter.com/4yqiq5NZt1
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) December 4, 2024
Among the things Fickell is dealing with: trying to find a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, tweaking the defense to better adjust to the physicality of the Big Ten, losing multiple players to the transfer portal, planning how to fill those spots with potential portal additions and determining his quarterback options for next season.
Start with the offensive coordinator search, which is one of the most important tasks on his to-do list. The job opening was posted for a week, with the deadline closing Tuesday night. Fickell said he doesn’t have a coordinator to name at this point despite wishing it were already done, saying he wanted to do his due diligence and not make a hasty decision. But he did offer notable insight into the type of offensive philosophy he was looking for, which will serve as a departure of sorts from the air raid scheme run by previous offensive coordinator Phil Longo.
Fickell said the expectation is that Wisconsin will be more of a pro-style offense that is multiple out of the shotgun but also able to go under center for what he called six to 10 snaps a game. He wants to utilize 11 personnel — one running back, one tight end and three receivers — which was a staple of Longo’s offense. But he also is keen to use heavier packages, including 12 (one running back, two tight ends, two receivers), potentially 13 (one running back, three tight ends, one receiver) and 21 (two running backs, one tight end, two receivers).
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“Our ability to be multiple and maybe be a little bit different from what we’ve seen the last two years I think is really important,” Fickell said. “But we don’t want to throw away the things we’ve done the last two years. Our ability to be better in the passing game because of what we’ve done the last two years is really going to be good. Our ability to acquire skill levels over the last two years gives us a greater opportunity to still play with those guys on the field if they’re our best 11 guys, which I think they are.”
Fickell returned to a frequently cited play from early in the season, when Wisconsin failed to convert on fourth-and-1 out of the shotgun against Alabama from the Crimson Tide 39-yard line. Running back Tawee Walker was stuffed for no gain, Alabama took over on downs and scored a touchdown 83 seconds later to establish the lead for good. Although Fickell said being in the shotgun wasn’t the reason Wisconsin was stopped, he noted the value of being able to go under center or utilize more play-action — something the team strayed from after a decades-long strategy to do so.
“I do think that there’s a lot of things that can help us and give us some different advantages if we do them in the right way,” Fickell said.
Fickell also indicated the possibility of hiring not just an offensive coordinator but also a quarterbacks coach. Longo handled both roles the past two seasons.
Other nuggets from Fickell:
• The transfer portal window doesn’t officially open until Monday. But as of Wednesday night, 12 players already planned to enter the portal: quarterback Cole LaCrue, outside linebacker Leon Lowery, cornerback Amare Snowden, safety Justin Taylor, defensive lineman Curt Neal, cornerbacks Jonas Duclona and Jace Arnold, safety Braedyn Moore, wide receivers Trech Kekahuna and Nate White, walk-on offensive lineman Manny Mullens and defensive lineman James Thompson Jr.
“I didn’t get into this world of college football to lose people,” Fickell said. “It was always about how do you retain guys? It’s harder to retain guys today. But sometimes that might be just the way that we’ve got to go about it. I wish them all the best. And some them you would beg not to go and some that you agree with it’s time to go. Either way, it’s about moving forward.”
Lowery and Neal both started 11 games, and Kekahuna finished third on the team in receptions. Thompson started 18 career games but missed most of the season with a torn pectoral muscle. Everyone else had minimal or no roles on offense or defense, though Moore figured to be an important piece next season at safety.
This cycle already has demonstrated part of the bind Fickell is in as he attempts to build Wisconsin’s program. He signed 15 scholarship players in the 2023 class. Ten of them have transferred out, including seven since Sunday. Many of those players committed under a previous coaching staff, but Snowden, Duclona and Moore all followed Fickell from Cincinnati.
While Fickell’s 2024 and 2025 classes have generated plenty of excitement — they include 19 combined four-star prospects — the 2023 class at least serves as a cautionary tale of what can happen in the transfer portal era if players don’t have a role early in their careers.
“You’ve got to get them to trust and believe and be able to develop them and get them on the field at an earlier age,” Fickell said. “And these guys are going to have that opportunity.”
• Wisconsin’s quarterback position doesn’t appear to be entirely settled. One big question mark is what the future looks like for Tyler Van Dyke, who earned the starting job this season but tore the ACL in his right knee against Alabama. Fickell said he planned on meeting with Van Dyke on Wednesday to discuss his options.
“From what he’s told me, he wants to continue to play college football,” Fickell said. “It is a tough situation for him and for all of us because there’s just so many unknowns with how his injury is, how long of a recovery his injury is. But I do think that not knowing exactly where we are right now makes it pretty vague.”
Fickell praised Van Dyke’s dedication to the program since he transferred last offseason from Miami. But he also said Wisconsin can’t end up in a situation like it did this fall when it had limited options at quarterback as the season unfolded. Van Dyke, who has a year of eligibility left, wouldn’t be healthy enough to participate in spring practices and there are no guarantees he would be ready for the start of preseason practices in August.
Braedyn Locke and Mabrey Mettauer are slated to return, and the Badgers signed two scholarship quarterbacks in the 2025 class — Carter Smith and Landyn Locke, Braedyn’s younger brother. Both players will be among 16 signees enrolling early, though Landyn Locke isn’t likely to participate in spring practices because he is also recovering from a torn ACL injury. It marks the first time Wisconsin has signed two quarterbacks in a class since 2017 (Jack Coan and Danny Vanden Boom).
Fickell said he wanted to have five scholarship quarterbacks on the team. Perhaps his next offensive coordinator could bring a quarterback with him or Wisconsin could add through the transfer portal for a third consecutive offseason.
• Both Lowery and Neal hinted at potential defensive changes during exit interviews with The Athletic after their transfer announcements. Lowery said coaches asked him to transition from being a stand-up edge rusher to playing with his hand in the ground. Fickell said the shift was part of a philosophy that requires Wisconsin’s front to be bigger.
He said he believed Wisconsin’s interior defensive line and outside linebackers were 20-25 pounds lighter and an inch or two shorter than where he wanted to be. He attributed some of the team’s struggles defensively to those issues during a five-game losing streak to close the season.
“We can say we got worn down, we got beat up, we got hurt,” Fickell said. “Some of that comes down to, hey, you’re going to have to get bigger. You’re going to have to be able to withstand in this league but also in this newfound league to be able to play 12 games, nine league games, a big-time out-of-a-league game.
“Size isn’t everything. But it does help you stay healthy. So if there’s any focus that those guys say might be the difference and change, that’s probably why those guys are maybe in the position where they are.”
(Photo: John Fisher / Getty Images)
