Wisconsin football is losing another quarterback to the transfer portal. The Badgers are coming off a very poor second season under head coach Luke Fickell. Wisconsin went 5-7 overall, 3-6 in the Big Ten conference, and will miss its first bowl game since 2001. The consequences of a disappointing 2024 have already reared their ugly head, with the Badgers losing several quarterbacks via the transfer portal over the past few weeks. Add another player to the list.

According to National College Football Reporter for CBS Sports Matt Zenitz, true freshman QB Mabrey Mettauer is set to enter the portal. A former 4-star recruit out of Woodlands, Texas, Mettauer is the third signal caller to leave Madison during this window. 

Luke Fickell heads into 2025 with a lot to prove

Wisconsin quarterback Mabrey Mettauer (11) looks to pass during football practice Wednesday, August 14, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Scott Ash / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Luke Fickell took over Wisconsin football after an incredibly successful tenure at Cincinnati. Under their former head coach, the Bearcats became the first and only team from the “Group of 5” to make the four-team College Football Playoff. The expectations were that Fickell would be able to take a Badgers' program from consistently good to great during his tenure. That, unfortunately, has not been the case yet.

Wisconsin is 13-13 overall under Fickell and 8- 10 in the vaunted Big Ten. The conference's new format, with no divisions, makes qualifying for the Big Ten championship game as competitive as ever. Therefore, the Badgers will have to mirror or exceed the teams of the early 2010s if they want to become a contender again. However, the close loss against No. 1 Oregon in November shows that the program isn't too far off from what it was.

The majority of the Badgers' issues have been on offense. Wisconsin's rushing attack,  a staple of this program, has deteriorated recently. Luke Fickell's team ranks just eighth in the conference in yards per game on the ground. In addition, Wisconsin's offense has also been lackluster through the air, throwing for just 196.7 yards per contest. Consequently, the Badgers are averaging a little more than 22 points a game, which ranks near the bottom of the Big Ten.

Overall, Wisconsin needs to improve in multiple facets if the program wants things to look more encouraging under Luke Fickell. There's a chance Mabrey Mettauer was never going to be the starter in Madison. However, his departure makes the Badgers even thinner at a position they desperately need to upgrade in 2025.