By Tony Thomas
The Wisconsin Badgers are coming off a 7-6 record in 2023 in year one of the Luke Fickell era in Madison. Year two will need to be much better, and the Badgers return a ton of talent to help in that endeavor.
Wisconsin returns 71% of their production from last season (according to Bill Connelly of ESPN), including experience on the offensive line, their top two receivers, and All-Big Ten Safety Hunter Wohler. They also found some quality talent in the transfer portal, including three that will make a significant impact this fall.
QB Tyler Van Dyke
Previous School: Miami Hurricanes
6’4”, 230 lbs.
Tyler Van Dyke comes to Madison as a former ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year with 28 starts to his credit. In 2023, Van Dyke passed for 2,703 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 INTs, and he completed 66% of his passes. Van Dyke produced three games of over 300 yards passing and threw three or more TD passes in a game three times last season. For his collegiate career, Van Dyke’s stats look like this:
· 11 games of over 300 yards passing.
· 11 games of 3 or more touchdown passes.
· 9 games of 70% or better completions percentage.
More Sports News
· 7,469 passing yards
· 54 passing touchdowns
· 23 INTs
· 63% completion percentage
https://twitter.com/espn/status/1713361309167718427
Tanner Mordecai has exhausted his eligibility, so Van Dyke will be the old man in the quarterback room and will provide leadership and experience, and should get QB1 reps in spring practice. Van Dyke will have dependable targets to throw to in All-Big Ten WR Will Pauling (74 catches, 837 yards, six TDs) and WR Bryson Green (32 catches, 480 yards, 2 TDs).
LB Jaheim Thomas
Previous School: Arkansas Razorbacks
6’3”, 215 lbs.
In 2023, Jaheim Thomas recorded 90 tackles, which led the Razorbacks in that category. In addition, Thomas collected 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and five quarterback pressures.
https://twitter.com/wps_weekly/status/1742975136448332275
Thomas posted double-digit tackles in five games last season, including three in a row against Kent State, BYU, and LSU. In fact, Thomas made three or more tackles in 11 of 12 games played in 2023. In his collegiate career, Thomas has 189 tackles and 13 tackles for loss.
Thomas will reunite with Fickell, his former coach at Cincinnati. In addition, Thomas will replace LB Jordan Turner and his 61 tackles (3rd on the Badgers), who transferred to Michigan State.
LB Tackett Curtis
Previous School: USC Trojans
6’2’, 225 lbs.
As a true freshman from Many, La., Tackett Curtis saw action in 12 games last season for the Trojans. Curtis recorded 40 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, one pass break up, one forced fumble, and one quarterback pressure.
His season-high in tackles came in a 48-20 loss to Notre Dame when he racked up eight stops. However, Curtis’s best overall game came produced seven tackles, two tackles for loss, and two sacks against Arizona State.
Curtis is extremely athletic, playing both ways in high school. In addition to playing linebacker (112 tackles), he also played QB, and Safety (3 INTs). As a quarterback, Curtis rushed for 1,115 yards and 11 touchdowns on his way to being named Mr. Football in the State of Louisiana in 2022.
