Wisconsin football loses starting WRs to transfer portal day after landing new QB

Will Pauling, CJ Williams both enter the transfer portal, leaving Wisconsin searching for new WRs

Will Pauling (right) joined Braedyn Locke in the transfer portal, departing from the Wisconsin football team. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

It continues to be a glass-half-empty offseason for the Wisconsin football team.

A day after landing quarterbacks Billy Edwards and Danny O’Neil from the transfer portal, the Badgers saw starting wide receivers Will Pauling and CJ Williams enter it.

Edwards, from Maryland, and O’Neil, from San Diego State, will likely be battling for the starting job under center into the fall. Landyn Locke, the younger brother of former Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke and a key recruit, announced he will no longer sign with Luke Fickell.

But that is just part of the bad news. 

Whoever wins the starting job, Fickell and company will need to find them some new weapons to work on offense under coordinator Jeff Grimes. 

Pauling has been a regular the last two years, catching 74 passes for 837 yards with six touchdowns in 2023. His numbers, like many on the team, dipped this past season, finishing with 42 receptions for 407 yards and just three touchdowns as a redshirt junior.

Williams, who came to Wisconsin from Southern Cal, recorded 16 receptions for 248 yards and two touchdowns this past year. He is also considered a junior in terms of eligibility. 

The Badgers did receive some good news with the decision when sophomore Trech Kekahuna elected to remain at the school after initially entering the transfer portal. 

Wisconsin’s current wide receiver room includes Kekahuna, freshman Eugene Hilton Jr., redshirt freshman Kyan Berry-Johnson, juniors Quincy Burroughs and Chris Brooks Jr. and seniors Joseph Griffin Jr., Tyrell Henry and Vinny Anthony.