Wisconsin football saw its season end without bowl practices for the first time since 2001. The Badgers hit a new low this century in year two of the Luke Fickell era, and will face a critical get-right year in 2025.

Over the next two weeks, BadgerBlitz.com will examine the 2024 Badgers position by position. Today, we'll continue with the cornerbacks, one of the stronger units on Wisconsin's defense this fall.

POSITIONAL REVIEWS: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends | Offensive Line | Defensive Line | Outside Linebackers | Inside Linebackers

The fact that the highlight of Wisconsin's cornerback room from this past season is a player who is no longer on the roster is the perfect representation of the unfortunate reality of where roster construction currently stands in college football. But Xavier Lucas was, albeit in limited reps, the Badgers' best corner as a true freshman.

Lucas wasted little time making a name for himself in Madison. He immediately made headlines with how his teammates and coaches raved about him in fall camp. When Ricardo Hallman said "I don't know how they let him get out of Florida," it was clear Wisconsin had something special on its hands.

Then, in his very first game, he intercepted a pass against Western Michigan, making a brilliant catch on the sideline. Over the course of the season, he allowed a reception on just 47.4 percent of his targets, easily the best mark in the Badgers' cornerback room. He also logged a sack against Oregon and was a willing tackler with seven "stops," or plays that constitute a failure for the opposing offense.

Lucas' departure to the portal is arguably the toughest blow Wisconsin has taken in portal season. Especially with Hallman expected to declare for the NFL Draft, the Badgers are now without both of their prospective starting corners next fall. But Lucas in particular had NFL talent written all over him and was primed to develop into one of the best corners in the conference, if not the entire nation, this coming season.

After opening the season with two buy games against lower quality opponents, Wisconsin's cornerbacks had yet to be tested to any degree of severity. Then came the mighty Crimson Tide rolling into town in Week 3, and things changed rapidly.

Facing a talented assortment of wideouts including the 17-year old phenom Ryan Williams, plus a quarterback in Jalen Milroe who is one of the better deep ball throwers in the nation, was more than the Badgers' secondary could handle. On Alabama's second drive, Milroe threw a perfect 31-yard touchdown pass to Williams on a go ball as the receiver ran right past seldom-used cornerback RJ Delancy. Maddeningly, that was one of just three snaps Delancy played in that game. Why he was lined up on the Tide's best receiver on third and long is anyone's guess.

Big plays through the air hurt Wisconsin all afternoon. After the Badgers missed a field goal just before halftime, blowing a chance to bring the game to within one score, Alabama had about half a minute to attempt to drive down the field. Two deep completions later, and it found the end zone all too easily. First, Williams once again cooked the secondary for a 47-yard gain, and then Germie Bernard reeled in a 26-yard touchdown on Hallman to push the lead to 21-3.

Simply put, Wisconsin's secondary got out-classed by an extremely talented assortment of wideouts with one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the country throwing them the ball. But this unit was still one of the best on the team, and in its next game against an offense with comparable firepower, it held up much better: the Badgers limited Oregon to 218 passing yards, no touchdowns and an interception, with the longest play through the air going for 32 yards.

Wisconsin's cornerbacks' coach Paul Haynes is in the midst of a nightmare scenario. He deliberately got Lucas plenty of playing time this fall, knowing the corner's talent and understanding that a player like him is liable to seek other opportunities if under-utilized. That, of course, comes at the expense of playing time for other youngsters that have been on the roster for longer, which can understandably cause some hard feelings. But the worst-case unfolded: not only did most of the spurned younger corners enter the portal, Lucas also elected to seek greener pastures.

It doesn't get any more dire than this. The Badgers currently have four cornerbacks on the roster, all of whom are freshman (two of which are redshirts) and none whom have played a snap of college football. Forget scholarship players and walk-ons, the Badgers have four cornerbacks on their roster, period.

Wisconsin has now been left with no choice but to hammer the portal in search of cornerbacks with experience. Lucas' somewhat late entry into the portal doesn't exactly help matters. In terms of known offers to corners, Wisconsin has reached out to former Charlotte 49er Elijah Culp, as well as D-III prospect Dwight Lewis. But that's not going to cut it; the Badgers need to reel in a solid handful of corners to have any comfortability with that room heading into spring practices.

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