As Luke Fickell's third act in Madison draws closer, BadgerBlitz.com will break down Wisconsin's roster position-by-position ahead of spring camp, which is slated to take place from March 13 to April 24.
BadgerBlitz.com is once again expected to watch any open practices available for reporters to attend. Thus, our position previews continue Friday with the outside linebackers, a unit in dire need of playmakers to emerge.
ROSTER OVERVIEW
The Badgers' outside linebackers did little to move the needle in 2024 despite turning heads in preseason camp. The two transfers that inspired that misplaced confidence, John Pius and Leon Lowery, are gone. Wisconsin still returns three players who played meaningful snaps last season, however: Aaron Witt, Darryl Peterson and Sebastian Cheeks. The Badgers also tapped into the portal again to land three edge players: Mason Reiger (Louisville), Michael Garner (Grambling) and Tyreese Fearbry (Kentucky).
Wisconsin hopes a combination of returning experience and another transfer portal infusion of bodies into the room sparks a unit that's been essentially dormant since Nick Herbig left the program.
In 2023, the Badgers outside backers struggled to make an impact, logging just 9.5 sacks as an entire room. This past fall? Wisconsin outside linebackers tallied just 6.0 sacks across 684 pass-rushing snaps. This is a troubling trajectory, one the program needs to reverse in 2025.
In-house development is always preferable, but at this point, it's unrealistic to expect either Witt or Peterson to make a considerable jump in year five. Peterson has 7.5 career sacks across four seasons and 1,378 snaps. The former, meanwhile, has been extremely injury-prone and was a non-factor in terms of getting after the quarterback last season.
Cheeks is a different story. He played well in his opportunities that were surprisingly limited considering he logged three sacks and had one of the better pressure rates on the team. Still, he was just the fifth-most utilized player on the edge. He'll be a redshirt junior, so he has two more seasons to grow his game in Madison.
Reiger was the first player Wisconsin signed out of the portal, and the former Cardinal is a polarizing player. On one hand, he logged five sacks the last season he was healthy in 2023 and has good size at 6-foot-4 and a previously listed 250 pounds. On the other hand, he didn't play at all last fall and now must get up to speed with a new program.
Garner also has good size at 6-foot-5, and he'll get north of the 230 pounds he was listed at last season in the weight room. He recorded two sacks and a forced fumble as a rotational edge player with 173 snaps last fall.
Fearbry could be the most intriguing transfer at the position. The Pittsburgh native logged just 21 total tackles in three years in Lexington. Still, he brings intriguing size at 6-foot-5, and again, should add some mass to the 242 pounds he was listed at last season. He was also a four-star prospect in the class of 2022.
Wisconsin was also high on Thomas Heiberger last season before the true freshman suffered an injury that limited him to special teams appearances late in the season. He's the wild card in this room. Ernest Willor, the former Rivals250 prospect, will also be a redshirt freshman this spring.
Finally, the Badgers have one early enrollee freshman in the room, Nicolas Clayton. He was the highest-rated signee in Wisconsin's 2025 class, checking in at 165th nationally. Wisconsin also has three walk-ons at the position.
One question heading into spring practices: Can young players push for playing time?
Wisconsin went the transfer portal route in an effort to shore up the edges last season, and though both transfers initially looked like dynamic players in spring practice, both were glaringly un-impactful on Saturdays. The Badgers signed three more transfers this offseason, but again, that hasn't been the most fruitful strategy. Instead, Wisconsin needs to start seeing some development from its young players.
Heiberger is the most obvious candidate. He flashed as an early-enrollee true freshman, and looked slated for at least a sprinkle of playing time here and there last fall before his injury. He'll be a key player to track during camp.
Could Clayton have a similar impact as a freshman? How about a jump from Willor, who was a highly-coveted prospect not long ago? The Badgers' seniors and transfers will get the first crack at locking down starting spots, but young, home-grown players need to start emerging in this room sooner rather than later.
Player to watch this spring: Tyreese Fearbry
You could make a pretty compelling case for any player on the projected spring roster at outside linebacker for this category. Especially with how little production this room has yielded the past two seasons, each and every player should be monitored closely. But let's take a closer look at Fearbry, arguably the most intriguing transfer.
Coming out of high school, the blue-chip Pittsburgh native boasted offers from all over the country including Auburn, Arizona State, Miami and Penn State. He did it all for Perry Traditional Academy, playing defensive end, wideout and tight end. His athleticism jumps off the page, but he has yet to put it all together. Will that change in a new defense, in a new town with new coaches and strength staff?
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