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 Draft Scout College Football Player News: Wisconsin
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  Defensive end Jeff Pietrowski is the latest Michigan State player to enter the transfer portal, a team spokesman confirmed on Friday. The junior suffered an injury in week three against Washington and missed the rest of the season. As a redshirt sophomore in 2021, Pietrowski appeared in all 13 games with three starts while ranking second on the team with 5.5 sacks. He also recorded seven tackles for loss while notching 33 tackles for the season and tying for second in the Big Ten with three forced fumbles. In 23 career games, Pietrowski had 43 tackles, including 7.5 for a loss, 5.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. - Detroit News

rSr/2025 OLB Jeff Pietrowski JrWisconsin
News Source: Detroit News
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  The Guaranteed Rate Bowl was John Torchio's last game in a Wisconsin uniform. The senior safety said in November he wasn't returning to UW for a sixth season in 2023 but then after the bowl game revealed he was reconsidering that decision. Torchio ended any doubt Saturday night by announcing on Twitter that he plans to enter the 2023 NFL draft.

The former walk-on from California recorded four tackles and broke up one pass in his final college game, a 24-17 UW victory. He finished the season fourth on the team in tackles with 56 and led UW in interceptions with five. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns - one for 100 yards in the opener against Illinois State and one for 31 yards against Purdue. - Journal Sentinel


rSr/2023 SS John TorchioWisconsin
News Source: Journal Sentinel
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  Head coach Luke Fickell has said from the day he was hired at Wisconsin that he plans to use the transfer portal only as complementary tool to fill gaps on the depth chart. Although senior Chase Wolf played well to help the Badgers close the season with a victory over Oklahoma State on Tuesday night in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, it was clear UW could use an experienced player at that critical position. The Badgers reportedly landed such a player Thursday night in SMU transfer Tanner Mordecai, who has one season of eligibility remaining.

Mordecai, 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds, told reporters last month he planned to enter the 2023 NFL draft. However, he reportedly entered the transfer portal Thursday afternoon. Mordecai played two seasons at SMU. He completed 65.0% of his passes this season for 3,524 yards, with 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He rushed 59 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns. He completed 67.8% of his passes for 3,628 yards, with 39 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, in 2021. Mordecai signed with Oklahoma and redshirted in 2018, playing in just two games. He played in six games in 2019 and four in 2020 before transferring to SMU. The addition of Mordecai likely gives UW six quarterbacks entering next season. He joins Wolf, Myles Burkett, Oklahoma transfer Nick Evers, incoming freshman Cole LaCrue and walk-on Marshall Howe. - Journal Sentinel


rSr/2024 QB Tanner MordecaiWisconsin
News Source: Journal Sentinel
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  After freshman kicker Nathanial Vakos kicked a 56-yard field goal to tie the game with only four seconds left on the clock, the Ohio football team (10-4, 7-1 MAC) defeated the Wyoming Cowboys (7-6, 5-3 MWC) at the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl in overtime, 30-27. This victory marks the Bobcats' first 10-win season since 2011 and their fourth in program history as well as their first win over Wyoming. Redshirt sophomore quarterback CJ Harris (West Bloomfield, Mich.) went 20-for-33 with two touchdowns on 184 yards. Junior wide receiver Jacoby Jones (Tunica, Miss.) scored one touchdown on 44 yards while redshirt junior tight end Tyler Foster's (Pickerington, Ohio) only reception of the day scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime.

On the ground, redshirt freshman running back Sieh Bangura (Bowie, Md.) led the Bobcats with 25 carries and one touchdown on 138 rushing yards. Harris, who was named the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl Most Valuable Player, was also a rushing threat, registering 10 attempts on 52 yards. Defensively, redshirt junior linebacker Cannon Blauser (Hilliard, Ohio) led the team with seven tackles, five of which were solo. Redshirt freshman cornerback Torrie Cox, Jr. (Bowie, Md.) snagged the only interception of the game. - Ohio Football


Sr/2026 K Nathanial VakosWisconsin
News Source: Ohio Football
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  Chase Wolf wasn't perfect in his first college start. Yet the fifth-year senior overcame a costly interception on is fifth throw of the game and directed two critical touchdown drives in the second quarter to help Wisconsin end its season with a 24-17 victory over Oklahoma State in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Tuesday night in Phoenix. "I thought Chase did a phenomenal job tonight," UW coach Luke Fickell said. "He controlled what he could control. He took shots when he took shots. "I don't think I ever saw him bat an eye. Even after the interception, his ability to come back. That's a credit to him."

Tuesday was his 13th game at UW. Fickell suggested afterward Wolf is leaning toward taking advantage of the COVID season of 2020 and returning to UW for a sixth season. Wolf told reporters he would be back. "We've talked about that," Fickell said. "He's got himself into graduate school, and I think he feels like he's got some unfinished business. "And it's hard to walk away from a place like this." - Journal Sentinel


rSr/2024 QB Chase WolfWisconsin
News Source: Journal Sentinel
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  Wisconsin had a new coach on the sideline, with the interim coach still calling the shots. The Badgers had several new players in key positions, including quarterback. A long, sometimes-difficult season came to a conclusion with more adversity - and, eventually, a win. A 17-point lead nearly erased, Wisconsin dug down for one last defensive play to beat Oklahoma State 24-17 in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Tuesday night. "It ended exactly the way we wanted it to - we got the win," said Braelon Allen, who ran for 116 yards and scored on a 20-yard touchdown. Luke Fickell, hired away from Cincinnati after a trip to the College Football Playoff last season, joined the team on the sideline for the bowl game. He wasn't there to run the show, though; all the decisions were left to interim coach Jim Leonhard.

The Badgers had everything working in the first half. The offense had balance, the defense stifling while they built a 17-point lead. In the second half, Wisconsin (7-6) bogged down on the slippery Chase Field turf and the defense started giving up chunk plays as the Cowboys rode their way back. Cedrick Dort finally ended Oklahoma State's momentum, intercepting Garret Rangel's pass with three minutes left, preserving the Badgers' eighth win in their past nine bowl games. "This is what I envisioned what this was about from afar," Fickell said. "And that's what they've shown me over the last three and a half weeks: they want to be here, they want to do it together and they want to do it the right way." The Cowboys lost four of five to close out the regular season and struggled offensively while falling into a 24-7 hole midway through the third quarter. Rangel had the lone offensive highlight in the first half with a big assist from Stephon Johnson Jr., who broke a couple of tackles to turn a swing pass into an 84-yard touchdown. - Wisconsin/AP College Football


Jr/2024 RB Braelon AllenWisconsin
News Source: Wisconsin/AP College Football
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  UW next season must replace cornerbacks Jay Shaw, Justin Clark and Cedrick Dort Jr. Smith announced late in the regular season he planned to return to UW for his final season in 2023. He likely will be the team's most experienced cornerback. "The No. 1 thing I saw on his tape was his versatility," Leonhard said. "He had the length. He had the twitch, the speed. You saw him on offense. You saw him on defense. You saw him returning kicks. He played physical. It was just a little bit of everything. "And when you (combine) the skill set you saw on tape with who he is from a character standpoint, it was just a perfect fit. It was awesome to get him on campus." But? "You never know -- you get players from outside the area -- how they're going to respond," Leonhard said. "You saw his eyes light up. He understood what Wisconsin was about and that's why he didn't take very long with his decision." - Journal Sentinel

rSr/2024 CB Alexander SmithWisconsin
News Source: Journal Sentinel
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  Former coach Paul Chryst's staff had months to recruit Braelon Allen, to convince the standout from Fond du Lac High School that Wisconsin was the best place to realize his dreams of playing college football. New head coach Luke Fickell had days to recruit Allen, to convince him that staying at UW was the best option for the tailback's third and perhaps final college season. "We talked about his potential, his development of what he could do, hopefully, in the next 12 months," Fickell said. "He is a really young kid. But most of our conversations have been getting to know each other. "I asked him to have that blind faith, to trust us and believe (in) us, in what we're going to do and how we're going to do it. "To me, it is all about: Do they really trust you? So spent a little bit more time with him in particular. Just going through his history. How he ended up in college at 17 years old and things like that. "I think we have a pretty good connection and I'm happy to say I think he believes and trusts in what we're going to do."

Allen obviously liked what he heard from Fickell because he decided to return to UW in 2023. "Everybody has got to buy into that, with a new staff," Allen said Thursday after bowl practice. "A lot of it is having trust, trust in him knowing what he has done with past teams...It was just getting to know each other, building that relationship." Allen, who rushed for 1,126 yards and 10 touchdowns in 11 regular-season games, talked to Fickell about myriad topics. - Journal Sentinel


Jr/2024 RB Braelon AllenWisconsin
News Source: Journal Sentinel
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  2022 ALL-MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM: Placekicker - Nathanial Vakos, Ohio,...Vakos is having a strong freshman year for the Bobcats, kicking in all 12 regular season games. He went 19-for 22 on field goals and 47-for-48 on PATs, scoring a total of 104 points. Against Western Michigan (Oct. 15), his 55-yard field goal marked a personal record as well as tied him for the third-longest field goal in program history. Vakos earned MAC Special Teams Player of the Week twice. - Ohio Football

Sr/2026 K Nathanial VakosWisconsin
News Source: Ohio Football
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  2022 ALL-AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION: OT Joe Huber, Cincinnati, So.,...Earning honorable mention all-league were: senior cornerback Arquon Bush, redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Joe Huber and senior offensive lineman Dylan O'Quinn. - Cincinnati Football

rSr/2025 OG Joe HuberWisconsin
News Source: Cincinnati Football
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  Wisconsin's Nick Herbig is pursuing his dream of playing in the National Football League. The junior linebacker from Hawaii announced Saturday via Twitter he is entering the 2023 draft. Herbig is the sixth UW player to declare for the draft before the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Dec. 27. He joins center Joe Tippmann, nose tackle Keeanu Benton, guard Tyler Beach and cornerbacks Justin Clark and Jay Shaw.

Herbig was a three-year starter and improved his overall game in each of the last two seasons. He recorded one sack and six tackles for loss in seven games as a freshman in 2020. He recorded nine sacks and 14 1/2 tackles for loss in 13 games as a sophomore and this season he led the Big Ten in sacks (11) and tackles for loss (15 1/2) in just 11 games. Herbig was a consensus first-team, all-Big Ten pick, a Walter Camp All-American (second team) and on Friday was named UW's team MVP. - Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel


Jr/2023 OLB *Nick HerbigWisconsin
News Source: Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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  2022 WALTER CAMP SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICAN: LB Nick Herbig, Wisconsin,...A consensus first-team All-Big Ten honoree, Herbig finished the regular season as the Big Ten sack leader, totaling 11.0 quarterback takedowns. He posted his best performance of the season on the road at Iowa, tallying eight tackles, 3.0 sacks and forcing a fumble. - Wisconsin Football

Jr/2023 OLB *Nick HerbigWisconsin
News Source: Wisconsin Football
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  Nose tackle Keeanu Benton could have turned pro after the 2021 season, his third at Wisconsin. The graduate of Janesville Craig High School chose to return to UW for his senior season for two reasons: To help UW win a Big Ten title and to improve as a player. UW failed to win the Big Ten West and finished just 4-5 in the Big Ten, but Benton put together his best season with the Badgers and on Friday announced via Twitter he is entering the 2023 NFL draft. Benton could have returned for a fifth season because of the COVID year exception. "It's been an honor to be a part of this awesome university for the past four years and I have no regrets about anything I did on or off the field," Benton wrote. "I have become a man at the University of Wisconsin and consider this my second home."

Before examining the numbers Benton posted in 2022, remember how well he played in UW's double-overtime loss at Michigan State on Oct. 15. Benton suffered a right-knee injury one week earlier at Northwestern and was limping throughout the Michigan State game. Yet he recorded five tackles and when he was on the field the Spartans struggled to open running lanes between the tackles. Benton played in all 12 regular-season games and posted 4 1/2 sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 35 total tackles, all personal-best marks at UW. - Journal Sentinel


Sr/2023 DT Keeanu BentonWisconsin
News Source: Journal Sentinel
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  12/09/22 - Eli SteinSr/2026, Wisconsin + More +

  2022 SEC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM: LS Eli Stein, Arkansas,...Stein is the first long snapper in program history to earn all-freshman praise from the SEC. The Cambridge, Wisc., native has played in 11 games this year, missing only the regular-season finale at Missouri due to injury. With Stein's help snapping the football, kicker Cam Little has connected on 10-of-13 field goals, including all eight of his attempts from inside 40 yards, and drilled all 41 of his point-after attempts this season. - Arkansas Football

Sr/2026 LS Eli SteinWisconsin
News Source: Arkansas Football
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  Center Joe Tippmann announced he plans to enter the 2023 NFL draft. Tippmann will not play in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Tippmann, a redshirt junior, is the only member of the offensive line to start all 12 games this season. He has started 23 games and played in 26 at UW. Tippmann's departure means UW will be without three linemen in the bowl game. Guard Michael Furtney plans to transfer and guard Tyler Beach is preparing for the draft. - Journal Sentinel

Jr/2023 C *Joe TippmannWisconsin
News Source: Journal Sentinel
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