Source: uwbadgers.com

Every transfer portal cycle has a name that nobody is talking about.

This year, it might be Colton Joseph.

In dire need of a program-altering playmaker at the quarterback position, Wisconsin moved swiftly in the portal to land the former Old Dominion signal-caller. In Joseph, the Badgers landed a quarterback that doesn’t come with excess hype, but one that might come with the answers necessary to give Wisconsin a fighting chance in 2026.

Joseph is not a household name. He’s not a headline grabber. And in all actuality, he’s probably someone that not many casual college football fans can even recall watching. But he does bring something to the table that Wisconsin has been missing ever since Fickell took over — a real ceiling at the quarterback position.

Joseph’s game is rooted in mobility, instincts and the ability to make plays when structure breaks down. That matters because the Badgers need someone who can extend drives, stress defenses and keep the offense on schedule.

Joseph doesn’t need to be an immediate star. But he does need to bring the same type of functional, reliable and dangerous playmaking that made the Old Dominion offense hum. If he does, his move to Madison will be one that not only alters the Badgers’ season, but maybe defines Fickell’s tenure.

2026 is a make-or-break season for Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell. And that might be putting it lightly.

Last offseason, I wrote about what had gone so wrong for Fickell. In short, he’s struck out at the quarterback positions for three straight seasons. Former quarterbacks Tanner Mordecai, Tyler Van Dyke, Braedyn Locke, and Billy Edwards haven’t worked out, whether because of injury, simply poor play or a combination of the two.

Wisconsin, more than most teams, has also been decimated by the collapse of the Big 10 West division. During Wisconsin’s heyday, the Badgers feasted on down seasons from the likes of Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Purdue. Now? They don’t have the advantage of beating up on downtrodden programs, and instead have to play the Indianas, Michigans, Ohio States and Oregons of the world. Life comes at you fast.

As it pertains to Joseph, Wisconsin desperately needs someone who can: a) stay healthy and b) give this offense a jolt of life. The last three seasons have been a merry-go-round of ineffective quarterback play. It’s hard to put into words just how bad it’s been…but trust me, it’s been really bad.

I struggle to put the “hero” or “savior” tag on a guy like Joseph, who is making the jump from the G5 to arguably college football’s most dominant conference…but Badger fans have hopes and dreams too, and I can’t exactly blame them for hoping the Joseph transfer has a get-rich-quick feel to it.

More than anything, though, the Wisconsin offense desperately just needs a quarterback who can: extend drives, stress defenses and keep the offense on schedule. Fewer third and longs and far fewer “what the fuck are we doing” moments. It’s a relatively low bar to clear, but here we are.

Quarterback comps often feel like a slippery slope, but I can’t help but think and feel that Joseph has a little John Mateer to his game.

Source: Hudl IQ

Using Hudl IQ Player Radar Data, we can compare John Mateer’s 2024 season at Washington State with Colton Joseph’s 2025 season at Old Dominion. Looking at the Traits Radar (left side), we can see that both players have almost identical QB Rush % and very similar Time to Throw numbers. Mateer has a much higher Pocket Left %, meaning he left the pocket more often, whereas Joseph played with a bit more structure and did more damage within the Monarchs’ offense.

Looking at the Performance Radar (right side), Mateer generated better EPA/Play and EPA/Pass figures. But both Joseph and Mateer have eerily similar numbers when you compare Net Yards/Pass, Explosive %, Chunk %, and Yards/Completion.

Both players are firecrackers when it comes to generating explosive chunk plays—and it’s no surprise that the Wisconsin player personnel department went so hard to get Joseph to commit to the Badgers.

Source: Hudl IQ

While I’m unable to use the Hudl IQ Player Comparison tool to compare Mateer’s 2024 season with Joseph’s 2025 season, I am able to see a few more comparable players to Joseph’s 2025 season output. His most apt comparisons from the 2025 season are guys like NDSU’s Cole Payton (a very mobile player), USF-turned-new Auburn QB Byrum Brown (one of the most explosive runners from last year’s G5 ranks), and other quarterbacks like FSU’s Tommy Castellanos and Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed.

It’s a bit more difficult to draw a direct through line from Joseph’s 2025 season and compare it to the likes of Castellanos and Reed, though, mainly because it’s hard to factor in the fact that Joseph was facing G5 defenses, whereas the other two guys were playing against P5 opponents.

Joseph is not a statuesque quarterback who will always blow you away with his arm talent. He’s not a Fernando Mendoza-type who rarely has to get off schedule to make plays.

But the advanced metrics paint a pretty vivid picture. Joseph had elite production at the G5 level and is more than worth the risk for Wisconsin at this point in Luke Fickell’s tenure.

If Colton Joseph works for Wisconsin in 2026, he looks competent, makes an ample amount of good plays with both his arms and his legs and has the type of off-script ability to salvage plays when things break down around him.

His upside, if things come together around him, should give someone like Fickell some breathing room. It gives the program direction. It shows progress.

If he doesn’t work? It’ll likely spell the end of the Fickell tenure in Madison as we know it.

I don’t consider Joseph a player with boom or bust potential, so to speak, but the G5 to P5 jump is real and is far from a sure thing.

All in all, I think Wisconsin is betting on Joseph’s upside to jolt some life into an offense that desperately needs it and is hoping that he can make a positive step up, much like Mateer and others have done before him.

The transfer portal isn’t always about making a splash; sometimes, it’s about making a season survivable. At this point, Fickell is stranded in the Big 10 ocean, clinging to what might be his last life raft. If he doesn’t, it’ll be remembered as a last-grasp swing that marks the end of Fickell’s time in Madison.

Did you enjoy this newsletter? Consider sharing it with a friend.