As the dust continues to settle from a transfer portal season that seemingly gets more hectic and unpredictable each year, what better time to revisit BadgerBlitz.com's "Stock Up, Stock Down" feature?

The transfer portal has given us plenty of players to discuss, from potentially game-changing newcomers (Billy Edwards Jr., Tanner Koziol) to potentially significant departures (Xavier Lucas, Will Pauling). But what about the players still on Wisconsin's roster?

Transfer portal season offers great insight into how a staff views its depth chart given what positions they prioritize and what positions they neglect. The Badgers' moves in the portal indicate they have faith in certain players — and felt they needed to bring in competition for others.

With that, which holdovers from Wisconsin's 2024 roster have seen their stocks rise? Who's stock is falling? We take a look below:

Tailback Darrion Dupree was a frequent member of the 'Stock Up' section of this article during the regular season. Though his stats won't jump off the page (79 carries for 317 yards and one touchdown; 12 catches for 119 yards), Dupree demonstrated plenty of exiting traits, namely a penchant for getting yards after contact coupled with excellent body control in the open field. The versatile back who thrives as a receiving threat looked like the future of the backfield in Madison, and Wisconsin's moves in the portal have all but confirmed that notion.

The Badgers didn't sign a tailback via the winter portal window. That leaves five scholarship running backs: Dupree, his '24 classmates Dilin Jones and Gideon Ituka, plus veteran backups Cade Yacamelli and Jackson Acker. Of that group, Dupree is the favorite to be the top runner by a wide margin.

Wisconsin's approach at running back this offseason hasn't been hard to interpret: it thinks with the uber-talented Dupree and his fellow underclassmen, plus Yacamelli and Acker, it has everything it needs for Devon Spalding's room in 2025.

Vinny Anthony was given a big opportunity in 2024. His 539 snaps led all Badgers' wideouts, and he rewarded Wisconsin by putting together a career year. The junior reeled in 39 catches for 672 yards and four touchdowns, emerging as one of the better deep threats in the conference and putting his blazing speed on display on multiple occasions.

Now, Wisconsin has rewarded Anthony. The Badgers certainly didn't neglect the receiver position in the transfer portal, as they signed two wideouts: Mark Hamper and Jayden Ballard. Still, Hamper is an FCS transfer, making it difficult to project his impact in the Big Ten, while Ballard posted negligible stats over four seasons at Ohio State. Translation? Wisconsin didn't bring in anybody who is a legitimate threat to Anthony's gig as the starting X receiver.

Losing Jaheim Thomas and Jake Chaney, Wisconsin saw its top two players at inside linebacker depart this offseason. The reinforcements it added? Nothing to write home about. The Badgers added a single transfer in FCS Western Carolina addition Antarron Turner. Turner, who will have two seasons of eligibility remaining in Madison, totaled 61 tackles, three sacks and two pass-breakups this past fall.

Now, the lack of additions at inside linebacker indicate that the staff is high on rising junior Christian Alliegro as the future of the position. But given his obvious talent and the fact that he was second on the defense in tackles despite being 12th in snaps, that's not new information. More importantly, the move indicates the staff is high on ex-USC Trojan Tackett Curtis' ability to play well in a significant role moving forward.

Other than Alliegro, Turner and Curtis, Wisconsin's other inside backers have played a grand total of two collegiate snaps. That indicates that top three will be relied upon heavily, Curtis included. Curtis had his ups-and-downs in 2024, finishing with 27 tackles and two pass-breakups. Still, he has plenty of raw talent to work with, and the Badgers are clearly banking on harvesting that.

Cornerback was the position hit the hardest by the transfer portal for the Badgers. Counting Lucas, though he never technically entered the portal, Wisconsin saw five cornerbacks and eight total defensive backs depart the program in the winter portal window. The Badgers reloaded — somewhat — with two signees in former Miami Hurricane D'Yoni Hill and former Jacksonville State Gamecock Geimere Latimer, but some quick arithmetic tells us that Wisconsin is still in the net negative at cornerback. That puts plenty of the onus on two rising redshirt freshmen, Jay Harper and Omillo Agard.

Neither young corner played a snap in 2024, but they figure to play plenty this coming fall. Other than the two aforementioned signees and returning starter Ricardo Hallman, the Badgers have virtually no one with game experience at cornerback.

Harper was a high three-star cornerback with offers from the SEC, ACC and Big 12. Agard was a blue chip, Rivals200 four-star who essentially could've played anywhere in the country. The pair's pedigree is impressive, but now they'll have to prove it.

Defensive linemen Ben Barten appeared to get slightly more disruptive as the season wore on, and he did notably finish with five pass-breakups. He's now set to run it back as Wisconsin's top defensive lineman in 2025. The Badgers' defensive staff, however, felt the need to bring in plenty of competition.

Wisconsin signed no less than five defensive linemen via the portal in an attempt to completely overhaul an uninspiring position group. Three of them have one year of eligibility remaining, so they figure to push especially hard for snaps.

Barten will assuredly get his shot to remain a starter, but the Badgers have decided to throw as many bodies as possible at their defensive trenches problem. The competition in EJ Whitlow's room will be intense this spring and summer.

Of Wisconsin's two primary tight ends from the 2024 season, Riley Nowakowski and Tucker Ashcraft, only the latter stuck around. That wasn't enough for the Badgers to feel comfortable at a position that's now been extremely lackluster for three seasons. Wasting little time, Wisconsin signed Ball State transfer Tanner Koziol, one of the best tight ends available, as their second acquisition of portal season.

Ashcraft was thrust into playing time as a true freshman, but hasn't been able to make much of an impact. He had a particularly frustrating 2024 season, as drops and penalties repeatedly hindered his performance.

Even with two promising redshirt freshmen waiting in the wings — Robert Booker and Grant Stec — Wisconsin decided it couldn't take any more chances at tight end and bank on Ashcraft's development as the top player in the room. With promising young pieces and now a new star player in the room, Ashcraft is all of the sudden an odd man out.

In a blind resume situation, two super seniors who've combined for over 1,700 career snaps returning to bolster a position would normally be a great sign. With Darryl Peterson and Aaron Witt, however, who combined for just 25 pressures on 306 pass-rushing snaps in 2024, their return doesn't change much about the Badgers' incompetent pass-rush.

Wisconsin added two pass-rushers via the portal, neither of whom has a particularly impressive resume. Mason Reiger, who transferred from Louisville, tallied five sacks the last time he played — which was 2023. Tyreese Fearbry, the other signee, had 21 tackles over three years with Kentucky.

Still, Wisconsin's need to target reinforcements at the edge spot indicates the staff understandably isn't pleased with the Badgers' lack of production from the returning super seniors.

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