Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell doesn’t mince words when it comes to managing a roster in the current climate.
The Badgers are attempting to rebuild after a string of incredibly disappointing seasons. The worst season in the string was the 2024 season.
Wisconsin finished a pathetic 5-7 and snapped the program’s 22-year bowl streak. Fickell was hired to inject life into the program after Paul Chryst was fired.
That’s not what has happened at all. The team is speeding in the wrong direction, and the runway to fix things is rapidly shortening.
Can Luke Fickell turn around Wisconsin’s football program? (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Luke Fickell shares blunt comment on roster management.
Fickell watched his roster get hit with a load of transfer portal exits after the season ended, and he’s seen more into spring practice. Defensive lineman Jamel Howard originally intended to transfer before withdrawing from the portal.
The Badgers head coach was asked about the situation on Tuesday after practice and shared some thoughts that cut straight to the point.
“Well, it’s not about convincing guys. That’s the thing. I think that if a guy wants to leave, you have honest conversations with him. You can’t coach hostages. I’ll give him credit. He went about it the right way. He communicated, talked about it, he’s got some good guidance at home with his uncle that we had talked about deeply with, you know, and he maybe made a decision that was a little bit hasteful,” Fickell said, in part, when addressing how he handled Howard entering the portal and then withdrawing.
You can watch his comments in the video below starting around 12:30, and make sure to send me your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.
“You can’t coach hostages.”
That belongs on a poster in every locker room in America in the current NIL era. Look no further than the chaos at Tennessee with Nico Iamaleava for a prime example of the insanity of what college football has become.
Of course, it’s not the same situation here, but guys have to be all-in or all-out. You can’t have guys on a team who don’t want to be there. Coaches simply can’t manage a roster where players have one foot out the door.
Fortunately for Howard, he decided to stay in Madison for, I’m sure, a variety of reasons. However, that doesn’t change Fickell’s message.
Players either want to be there or they don’t. It’s not a problem if it’s the latter, but decisions have to be made. Players who aren’t all-in aren’t going to be nearly as coachable as those buying in.
For Fickell, he has no room for error as he sits with a 13-13 record in Madison.
Luke Fickell dropped a great quote about not coaching “hostages” amid transfer portal insanity in college football. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
Now, fans wait to see if Luke Fickell can get the Badgers back to the program’s winning ways. He better hope he can or the next conversation will be one he doesn’t like. Let me know what you think at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.
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