Michael Garner admits he’s become an analytical football player.

The 6-5, 230-pound end used to just line up and go as hard as possible into the opponent’s backfield. He still plays that way to a degree, but Garner found himself becoming a studious notetaker with the art of playing football over the last two years.

“I know a lot more than I did two years ago when I was in high school,” Garner told BadgerBlitz.com. “Two years ago, I had no idea the scheme. I didn’t even know what position I was playing. I just knew I was on the edge. Now I know a lot more. When I was at Grambling, I studied the game a lot because I realized this is something I want to do for a great part of my life.”

There were plenty of things that Garner cited in his notes about why joining the Wisconsin program made sense. Garner joins Tulane’s Parker Petersen, Western Michigan’s Corey Walker, and UT-Martin’s Charles Perkins has end commits from the portal.

Position coach E.J. Whitlow laid the groundwork for how he planned to use his new players on a front that is undergoing a complete overhaul

“When they come in, everybody has their own role,” Garner said. “They are seeing me as a first and third-down guy, where I’ll be able to go out there and stop the run and focus on third down.”

Garner has played the edge role since competing at Bloom Township HS in Chicago but lacked significant collegiate interest because of lack of technique. He became more refined at Grambling, finishing with 11 tackles, two sacks and four pressures last season.

“We did the best we could,” Garner said of his high school team. “We just didn’t have the talent that other high school programs did. When I got to college, it was probably my first time learning about the scheme and learning why we do the things we do, instead of just lining up on the edge and running into the guy with the ball.

“People consider (Grambling) a smaller school, I understand that, but nothing is given to you. I have to remain humble, put my head down, and go to work because we don’t get that many opportunities to showcase our talents like a Power-Four player does. I took advantage of every opportunity that I did. I feel like with that mindset, that’s what got me to P4, not ever looking for an excuse and being able to battle adversity.

“A lot of things have been given to kids who are four-star, five-star prospects. I just never had that.”

Garner started to get those opportunities once he entered the portal. Getting smaller school offers from places like Coastal Carolina and Georgia State, Garner said his recruitment exploded once he was offered by Colorado.

After that, Garner said he heard from Iowa, Florida State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and several others. Two days after the Colorado offer, Garner was on Wisconsin’s campus and received his offer.

“Where I want to go, I want to exhaust my eligibility,” Garner said. “I am not a big fan of the transfer portal or taking the bag. I want to build something. A lot of schools offered me money to go to their program. Wisconsin offered me to build something, be a part of the tradition that they value.”

Garner got a strong sense of that mindset when he spoke to left tackle Jack Nelson and other veteran Wisconsin players on his visit.

“Coaches can tell you one thing, but I talk to the players and all the players told me that they came up short last year and they were looking to get Wisconsin back to where it was,” Garner said.

One of the many shortfalls for Wisconsin in 2024 was not putting pressure on its opponents. The Badgers finished tied for 118th in sacks per game and last (133rd) in tackles for loss. Most of that UW defensive front is gone entering the spring, as Elijah Hills has graduated and key contributors Curt Neal (Illinois) and James Thompson have entered the portal, along with reserves Jamel Howard and Hank Weber (Samford).

With a combination of incoming transfers and young recruits, Garner sees last season as a blip rather than a trend.

“It was really the transparency with the staff and how easy it was to adapt to a situation like that,” Garner said. “They have a good scheme going on. I know they fell short last year, and they are looking for the pieces to bring back the rich tradition that they always have.”

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