Badgers land visit for star edge rusher who had 12 TFLs as a freshman

The Wisconsin Badgers have been quite busy in the transfer portal so far, landing 21 commits after West Virginia defensive lineman Hammond Russell committed to the program on Thursday morning. And they’re not done yet.

In what could be one of their biggest moves of the entire portal cycle, the Badgers have Oklahoma State freshman edge rusher Wendell Gregory on campus for a visit, which started on Wednesday. Gregory is expected to conclude his visit on Thursday and head to Texas for a visit with the Longhorns.

Gregory was on a visit to Texas Tech earlier this month, and the Red Raiders were considered the favorites for the redshirt freshman, but they’ve since landed San Diego State star edge rusher Trey White, Miami (OH) edge rusher Adam Trick (a player Wisconsin was interested in), and Allen edge rusher Amarie Fleming to go with a number of talented defensive linemen.

So, it seems his recruitment has opened up more, with the Badgers becoming realistic suitors for the star edge rusher who stands 6’3, 255 pounds. In addition to his 12 tackles for loss and four sacks this season, Gregory had 32 pressures and 19 run stops, although that came with nine missed tackles, according to PFF.

He started his career at South Carolina as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2024, but redshirted and transferred to Oklahoma State before the 2025 season. If the Badgers land him, they’d get the pass rusher they’ve been coveting in this transfer portal cycle on the edge.

So far, Wisconsin has landed one edge: Arkansas transfer Justus Boone, who is more of a run defender at 6’5, 290 pounds with the ability to play both inside and outside.

The fact that the Badgers were able to get Gregory on campus is impressive, considering the type of competition they’re facing (Florida State and Miami were also interested early on). We’ll see if they can find a way to close things out before Gregory heads to Texas.