Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell added a huge target to his offense in both hitting power and physical size in the December transfer portal. 6-foot-7-inch, 240-pound tight end Tanner Koziol, who recently arrived in Madison via the Mid-American Conference’s Ball State Cardinals, gives the Badgers a fresh, versatile weapon to utilize on offense.
Koziol, a former two-star recruit from La Grange, Illinois in the 2021 class, began his college career under coach Mike Neu at Ball State, where he had 69 receptions for 668 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first two seasons as a Cardinal. However, in the junior season, Kozioł became one of the best players in the country. In 2024, he was fifth among all pass catchers and second among tight ends with 94 receptions, adding another 839 yards and eight touchdowns. According to PFF Player Ratings, Koziol was the third-best player in the country in 2024 with an 89.2 player rating.
In an interview with 247SportsKozioł said the transfer was a “dream” and that playing so close to where he grew up made him “feel at home”:
“All the people really made us feel at home. It’s only two hours from home. Growing up in the Midwest, the Big Ten was always a dream. The coaches made things really good.
Koziol was named to the five-team All-American team and a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award, given annually in 2024 to the nation’s top-ranked players.
Koziol’s decision will be especially stressful for Ball State, which also featured starting point guard Kadin Semonza, as well as Cam Pickett and Justin Bowick, the team’s two best wide receivers. Koziol, Pickett and Bowick accounted for nearly 60% of the Cardinals’ receiving yards in 2024.
RECONSTRUCTION OF THE COMPOSITION
Kozioł’s involvement with the Badgers is just one of many. After a 5-7 season in which Wisconsin missed a bowl game for the first time since 2001, Luke Fickell’s team saw an astonishing 25 players enter the transfer portal. 16 players joined the Badgers in December this year through the portal.
Notable entries on the site for the Badgers include quarterback Braedyn Locke, who went 3-7 as a starter this season, running back Tawee Walker (864 yards, 10 TDs) and wide receiver Will Pauling (42 receptions, 407 yards, 3 TDs).
INTERVIEWER’S QUESTIONS
The biggest question remaining for Wisconsin will be its center. Braedyn Locke, who started 10 games for the Badgers after taking the job in mid-September, announced his decision to transfer to Arizona in December. Three other Badger quarterbacks have also announced their intentions to transfer, including week one starter Tyler Van Dyke, Cole LaCrue and Mabrey Mettauer. As of this writing, none of the three have signed with another school.
Despite two departures, Madison’s quarterback room is already starting to look crowded. One point guard has been confirmed to return to the lineup (Milos Spasojevic), two have signed with the Badgers via the transfer portal (San Diego State’s Danny O’Neil and Maryland’s Billy Edwards Jr.), and two fresh freshmen will join the team this spring (Carter Smith and Landyn Locke). It’s going to be a busy spring in Madison as Coach Fickell will determine which gunslinger will run the show in August.
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