Wisconsin football transfer portal tracker

The NCAA Transfer Portal continues to churn as the offseason is set to truly begin. Rivals.com tallied the totals in late December as seen below, but the numbers have continued to rise since the recruiting service tabulated these statistics:

Wisconsin has seen nine players enter the transfer portal since the beginning of the 2021 season. Two players, running backs Jalen Berger and Loyal Crawford, were dismissed by the team prior to their names showing up in the portal.

UW has benefited with additions through the transfer portal in recent memory but also has seen key contributors leave. The Badgers picked up running back Chez Mellusi and defensive end Isaac Townsend last year, and the former emerged as UW's No. 1 tailback (815 yards on 4.7 yards per carry) before he suffered a season-ending leg injury at Rutgers.

On the flip side, quarterback Jack Coan (Notre Dame), wide receiver Aron Cruickshank (Rutgers) and safety Reggie Pearson (Texas Tech) are three names who have found success after exiting Wisconsin.

BadgerBlitz.com unveils its breakdown of players who have left the program during the 2021 season, and if they have publicly announced their intentions to play elsewhere. We will continue to update this article throughout the offseason as needed.

Writer's note: Updated as of Feb. 9. Included are updated transfer portal numbers seen below:

Out of the 11 known players from Wisconsin's fall camp roster to enter the transfer portal, six have publicly stated their intentions to play elsewhere (and one was announced as an addition by another FBS program). Three committed to play for Power Five programs.

Berger, who was dismissed from the team in October, signed with Michigan State in December during the early signing period. The New Jersey native led the team in rushing (301 yards on 60 carries) during the abbreviated 2020 season, but he played in only three games in 2021 -- accumulating 88 yards on 24 carries with one touchdown.

Mellusi and true freshman Braelon Allen stepped up at tailback as big-time backs to help Wisconsin finish in the top 25 of the FBS.

Wide receiver Devin Chandler heads back out east, as Virginia announced his signing in December. The North Carolina product caught only two passes in his Wisconsin career, but he flashed as a kickoff returner in 2020 with six attempts for 156 yards. That included a 59-yard return against Wake Forest during the Duke's Mayo Bowl last December.

What Chandler's presence in the Wisconsin passing game in 2022 could have been with Danny Davis III, Kendric Pryor and Jack Dunn departing after this year is now hypothetical with his transfer.

Kayden Lyles announced he would transfer during the middle of the 2021 season, and in mid-December, he committed to ACC program Florida State. The interior offensive lineman played in five games this year, including one start, and participated in 34 games overall before his departure.

Izayah Green-May graduated from UW in December, but he announced his intention to enter the transfer portal on Nov. 29. The outside linebacker, who participated in 30 career games for Wisconsin, tweeted his commitment to Northern Illinois several days later. The MAC program made it official during the early signing period.

FCS program Duquesne officially announced the signing of Quan Easterling in December. The former Badger only played in one game this season and one contest in 2019.

Crawford announced on Jan. 9 that he would play for Independence Community College.

Wyoming announced on Jan. 19 that Deron Harrell would join its program.

Wisconsin appears set to add Vito Calvaruso, according to a tweet by the specialist on Dec. 27. The Arkansas transfer booted 63 touchbacks in 74 attempts this season, which comes out to an 85.1% touchback rate.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded Calvaruso No. 2 in its kickoff grades (93.4) for the 2021 season

Clark rejoins cornerbacks coach Hank Poteat, this time in Madison. The defensive back played for the current UW assistant from 2017-20 at Toledo.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Clark played in 45 games as a Rocket, tallying 109 tackles, four interceptions and 16 passes defended. He recorded 22 tackles, one tackle for loss, and one pass defended in 11 games during the 2021 season.

Wisconsin received another commitment in the defensive backfield with UCLA transfer Jay Shaw in mid-January. Shaw played in 43 career games with 16 starts, according to the Bruins' profile of the Corona, Calif., native. He reeled in six interceptions, including a team-high three picks during the 2021 season.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Shaw also recorded 27 tackles, two tackles for loss, four pass breakups, and one forced fumble and one fumble recovery each last year. PFF graded the defensive back with an 82.7, the best of all Bruins on that side of the ball.

More good news came for Wisconsin on Tuesday evening with yet another former UCLA player committing to the Badgers. Lewis, a 6-foot-3, 197-pound freshman, played in 11 games in 2021 but did not record a catch, according to the Bruins' profile of the East St. Louis, Ill., native.

Rivals.com rated Lewis as a three-star prospect for the 2021 class. He received 27 offers, including opportunities from Arkansas, Auburn, Iowa, Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Oregon and Texas A&M.

Cedrick Dort Jr. played in 44 career games at Kentucky with 25 starts, according to the program's profile page of the South Florida native. The 5-foot-11, 182-pound defensive back started 12 of 13 contests last season for the Wildcats, and he recorded seven career passes defended.

A surprise announcement by Wisconsin on National Signing Day, Carey previously started his college football career at Northern Illinois. The Huskies listed him on the 2019 roster, but the former quarterback and Middleton, Wis., native was not seen on the program's 2020 or 2021 rosters (as previously noted by Bucky's 5th Quarter).

*Antwan Roberts, who UW announced was suspended in the same press release that stated Loyal Crawford was dismissed from the program in late August, tweeted an offer from Tennessee State in late September. He also declared an official visit to Georgia Tech in December via social media. The Tennessee native has not publicly announced any decision yet.

*Wisconsin previously received a commitment from Michigan State transfer cornerback Kalon Gervin. However, he flipped his pledge to Kansas in December.

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