Key Wisconsin Badgers: No. 27 - Linebacker Tackett Curtis

Wisconsin's 2024 football season is right around the corner, so BadgerBlitz.com ranked the top 30 players who we think will be the keys to success for Luke Fickell's squad this year.

Playing time, past performance and positional depth all factored into our staff rankings.

Tackett Curtis’ relationship with the Badgers began long before he arrived via the transfer portal this past offseason.

Originally a four-star linebacker from Many, Louisiana, Curtis nearly came to Wisconsin out of high school before eventually choosing USC.

In 2022, he was heavily recruited by Paul Chryst’s coaching staff - specifically Bobby April, who preferred he start at outside linebacker. Curtis didn’t agree, so he went to USC, where he played and thrived on the inside. He was the first freshman inside linebacker to start at USC since 2015, recording 355 defensive snaps and finishing with 40 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble.

“I wanted to play middle inside linebacker where I could play both sides of the field and run and cover ground. That’s one thing I want to do,” Curtis told BadgerBlitz.com in January.

Curtis entered the portal and was aggressively sought after by the same program that misread him coming out of high school, this time led by a different coaching staff with a different and more fitting vision for his role.

“Entering the portal, I really wasn’t thinking about Wisconsin,” Curtis said. “They reached out to me, and they showed me Coach Fickell’s vision, the linebacker coach (and defensive coordinator Mike) Tressel, and how it’s a defensive-minded program right now. They showed me how they wanted to use me.”

Curtis has shown undeniable flashes in his young career, but is still far from a finished product, one that the Badgers coaching staff is surely desperate to mold.

His pure athleticism instantly jumped off the field at USC, where he became a key piece in the rotation almost immediately.

It also became clear fairly early that Curtis was a big game hunter. He’s a player that seeks out highlight hits.

But this also factored into some semi-frequent lapses in the run game. Curtis’ greatest weakness might be how painfully evident his youth is at times. He also missed a good chunk of spring camp while recovering from an injury.

His body isn’t as developed as the rest of the primary inside linebackers — Jake Chaney, Jaheim Thomas and Christian Alliegro. This is partially a result of his faster playing style, but it will nonetheless hinder his ability to defend the run. It’s not a total mystery why Chryst wanted him to play on the outside.

Curtis is a prototypical example of the defenders Fickell and Tressel are trying to attract to Madison. He’s an athletic specimen who plays with his hair on fire. He’s every coach’s dream.

He succeeded in high school, stood out almost immediately at USC and has garnered nothing but optimism from Wisconsin’s coaching staff so far. There are some evident issues with his game, but there also aren’t any perfect sophomores.

It’s up to the Louisiana native to improve his game, but he’ll also be an intriguing test for this coaching staff. If they can’t develop a player whose talent is this obvious, it’ll be a mark on their reputation.

Curtis’ placement on this list is mostly based on projection, but it speaks to the level of hype he’s earned in his young career. Players with this much natural talent don’t show up in Madison every day, especially at inside linebacker.

But Curtis has to meet the coaches halfway when it comes to his talent and hype.

He’s no longer surrounded by USC’s joke of a defense. Talent alone won’t earn him playing time anymore. The sophomore must prove that he can thrive alongside players who are just as skilled, but also much smarter and more experienced.

Ultimately, Curtis is one of the most difficult players to project on the entire roster. He could take the defense by storm and earn starter-level snaps. He could also conceivably be overshadowed by the other three primary inside linebackers.

Regardless of where he stands within the linebacker rotation, he’ll almost surely be a consistent member of the rotation, at least early in the season. But it’s up to Curtis where he ascends from there.

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