Though the NCAA transfer portal doesn’t officially open until Dec. 9, many of the early dominos have begun to fall in terms of departures from programs nationwide.

Wisconsin is no exception. The Badgers have seen significant attrition already, with 13 players announcing their intention to enter the portal and counting. Notably, all of the Badgers’ defensive backs from the 2023 cycle are gone, and just five scholarship athletes remain from that class.

More players are likely to depart from Madison before the dust settles, but let’s take a look at the early departures and evaluate the ‘Sting Factor,’ or how much each loss hurts the program on a scale of 1-10.

Cole LaCrue‘s departure hurts Wisconsin in the sense that it loses some depth at quarterback, but that’s the extent of the sting here, because that’s likely all LaCrue was ever going to be in Madison.

The quarterback was hurt this offseason, and was listed as out several times during the regular season as well. However, he’d already been passed by true freshman Mabrey Mettauer on the depth chart, do he was extremely unlikely to see snaps, healthy or not.

Wisconsin is expected to reload at quarterback this offseason with one if not two transfer portal additions. Thus, the former three-star quarterback’s departure is not a major casualty.

It’s tough to lose a veteran player with starting experience, but Leon Lowery was underwhelming in his one season with the Badgers. He registered 29 tackles and one sack off of 11 pressures from his starting spot on the edge.

Simply put, that’s not nearly enough production for a starting outside linebacker on this defense. Not that his fellow pass-rushers did much better, but Lowery wasn’t a game-wrecker and couldn’t make a consistent impact. It would’ve been nice to see if the former Syracuse linebacker could develop with another year in the program, but Lowery only had one year of eligibility remaining regardless.

This one hurts a bit. Amare Snowden was a huge get for the program when he pledged to head coach Luke Fickell as a Rivals250 recruit back in the 2023 class. A true 6-foot-4 cornerback with lanky arms and long strides, Snowden projected as a prototypical boundary corner. However, he barely managed to get on the field in his two seasons in Madison. He took a redshirt year in 2023 and was surpassed on the depth chart by true freshman Xavier Lucas in 2024.

Though he played just three snaps with Wisconsin (in the blowout win over Purdue this season), his potential makes his departure arguably one of, if not the biggest blow from the exodus of 2023 defensive backs.

This is an interesting one. The staff seemed high on Jonas Duclona as a true freshman, inserting him into several regular season games and having him play 20 snaps in the ReliaQuest bowl against LSU. Then, in 2024, he played just 12 snaps, all of which came in one game (Week 3 versus Alabama).

Duclona flashed potential in practice, but we never saw enough of the cornerback in-game to truly know what we’re missing. Once again, the emergence of the freshman Lucas stifled the growth and development of Duclona. His loss hurts the depth in the room, certainly, and he was a sought-after player in high school with 34 offers. Still, it just wasn’t meant to be in Madison.

Justin Taylor‘s loss hurts a touch more than other departures who had yet to play, primarily because he had versatile ability to man both the safety and corner spots in the secondary. Still, the staff clearly believed he wasn’t ready to play yet, as he redshirted in 2023 and played just four snaps in 2024.

Curt Neal’s departure was the first significant starter to bid farewell to the Badgers. Though he logged just 30 tackles and failed to wreak much havoc as a starter, Wisconsin remains thin on the defensive line and Neal was one of few players it trusted to play regularly.

Neal appeared to be playing out-of-position at times, as at 6-foot, 290 pounds, he appeared better suited for a defensive end role rather than a defensive tackle whose primary job is to plug the middle of the line and eat up blockers. Too often, Neal got mauled by bigger offensive linemen.

A schematic change would likely need to be made for Neal to increase his impact in Madison, but nonetheless, losing an experienced starter in a room that’s already a position of need isn’t ideal.

Jace Arnold is another 2023 defensive back, and he was a reserve corner who often played in the same lineup as his fellow ’23 corner Duclona in practice. He didn’t see any time as a true freshman, and played 11 total snaps in 2024 against Purdue and Northwestern. Again, Arnold’s path to playing time was clouded by Lucas’ emergence, but with the expected departure of at least one of Wisconsin’s starting corners, opportunities existed for the young Georgia native.

Braedyn Moore was likely next up at safety, and this one hurts especially considering both starters Hunter Wohler and Preston Zachman are expected to depart the program this offseason. Moore had a similar versatility to both players, displaying an ability to line up in the box, the slot and the back end in practice. He’ll be missed in Alex Grinch‘s room.

Trech Kekahuna is Wisconsin’s toughest loss in the transfer portal thus far. The wide out was maddeningly underutilized this fall, especially considering when he was given opportunities (eight targets against Purdue), he delivered (six catches for 134 yards and two scores). All told, the slot receiver reeled in 25 catches for 339 yards and two touchdowns this season.

Kekahuna’s talent was extremely evident. He’s highly elusive in the open field, and quite possibly had the best hands on the team as well. With three seasons of eligibility remaining, he’ll make a proper passing offense very happy.

Although Nate White didn’t log a snap, his loss registers as a low but not completely ignorable three because he had the potential to provide Wisconsin with some much needed depth at slot receiver.

After it became clear that White wasn’t going to make an impact at running back, especially with a three-tailback class in 2024 — all of whom appeared to pass White in the pecking order — the staff moved him over to the receiver room. As a former scat back standing at 5-foot-11, 182 pounds, White figured to be slot receiver who could potentially help fill the growing void in that department for the Badgers.

This one doesn’t really move the needle. Mullens didn’t play during his time at Wisconsin, and the former walk-on was set to be buried even further on the depth chart with the Badgers bringing in back-to-back five offensive linemen classes in 2024 and 2025.

James Thompson Jr. was regarded as Wisconsin’s best defensive lineman before a preseason injury knocked him out of essentially the entire 2024 campaign (save for seven snaps at Nebraska). During his career with the Badgers, he registered 58 total tackles, five sacks and two pass-breakups.

Thompson has one more season of eligibility due to his ability to medically redshirt in 2024, and the fact that he won’t spend it in Madison hurts the Badgers. This defensive line still needs to be rebuilt, but it hurts to lose your (theoretically) best player at a position of need when he could’ve returned for one more season to try to help anchor the trenches.

Again, any loss along a thin defensive is a tough pill to swallow. Weber, the first member of Wisconsin’s 2024 class to jump ship, was a three-star recruit and the No. 32-ranked player in Tennessee. Still, he didn’t play a snap in his true freshman season, so it’s hard to know what he may or may not have brought to the table years down the line.

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