Prior to the Badgers dipping into the transfer portal, the cornerbacks room was going to be the teams weakest link. Deron Harrell and Donte Burton have transferred, and Dean Engram is switching to wide receiver. Caesar Williams and Faion Hicks will be testing the NFL Draft waters. Williams went out to earn All-Big Ten honors in 2021 and was tied for the team lead in interceptions with three. While Hicks didn’t pick off a pass all season, he did lead the team in passes broken up with eight. They both also combined to appear in 91 games for the Badgers. This means that the Badgers will have brand new faces at cornerback.
Due to the lack of depth returning, the Badgers were aggressive in the transfer portal this offseason. They picked up Jay Shaw (UCLA), Cedrick Dort (Kentucky) and Justin Clark (Toledo). All three of them bring a combined 101 games experience to the Badgers. They have also played in pass happy conference’s in the SEC, MAC and PAC-12. In those conferences, they have lined up against great wide receivers like Drake London, George Pickens, Skyy Moore, Johnny Johnson III and Jameson Williams. Aside from Ohio State, Big Ten receivers are generally not nearly as explosive as those conferences. This will make the transition into the Big Ten smoother. Bringing that experience from other conference will serve the Badgers well this season.
Bringing in Jay Shaw from UCLA might have been the most important move the Badgers made this offseason. Out of every player the Badgers recruited in the transfer portal, Shaw was rated the highest. In four seasons with the Bruins, he appeared in 31 games picking off five passes including returning one for a touchdown. He also has broken up ten passes and forced two fumbles recovering one. His five interceptions are the most between him, Cedrick Dort and Justin Clark. I expect Shaw to have a big role in the Badgers new look secondary.
The most experienced cornerback out of all the players that transferred in is Justin Clark. During his career at Toledo, he appeared in 41 games and picked off four passes, defended 12 and forced one fumble while recovering two. Clark will be seeing a lot of playing time this season. He’s a seventh-year senior and the amount of experience he brings to the room is huge for Wisconsin. The move also reunites him with cornerbacks coach Hank Poteat. Poteat was Clark’s position coach at Toledo for three seasons as well. The Badgers will be leaning on him to lead the secondary.
Cedrick Dort is another experienced cornerback that the Badgers successfully picked up in the portal. Having the experience of starting in the SEC and covering some of the best receivers will help him greatly at Wisconsin. While he hasn’t intercepted pass in his career, he excelled at doing the dirty work. He was second in the secondary with 19 tackles. Adding a cornerback who can tackle is key for the Badgers. Both Williams and Hicks excelled at that and it was a reason why the Badgers defense broke their rushing yards record. Dort also comes from a team that is very successful on defense. Like the Badgers, Kentucky runs a 3-4 scheme which should make the transition seamless.
While the Badgers used the transfer portal heavily, they still have plenty of returning corners who are already on the roster. This includes Max Lofy, Alexander Smith, Semar Melvin, Ricardo Hallman, Al Ashford and Amaun Williams. Out of all those cornerbacks, only Alexander Smith and Semar Melvin have had serious playing time. Smith has appeared in 24 games in his career for the Badgers registering 17 tackles, an interception, a blocked kick, a fumble recovery and four passes defended. Melvin has appeared in 15 games in his career along with two starts. He’s has one pass defended during that time along with ten tackles.
On the recruiting front, the Badgers got commitments from three-star recruits A’Khoury Lyde and Avyonne Jones. They both will most likely redshirt.
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