The Wisconsin Badgers football team faces significant challenges at the tight end position ahead of the 2025 season following several unexpected changes, including Tanner Koziol’s departure and a medical retirement.
Koziol transferred to Wisconsin in December 2024 after an outstanding season at Ball State. The 6-foot-7 tight end had 94 receptions for 839 yards and eight touchdowns with the Cardinals and was ranked the No. 3 tight end in the transfer portal, according to 247Sports. He was a great addition to aid the Badgers’ reformed schemes with new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes.
But Koziol has been absent from spring practice since April 3, two days after reportedly sustaining a leg injury, according to BadgerExtra’s Colton Bartholomew. Head Coach Luke Fickell previously offered limited clarity, stating only that Koziol was “dinged up” and “going through a few things.”
Since then, Koziol has erased all Wisconsin-related content from his social media accounts. As the spring transfer window opened on April 16, he officially re-entered the portal. According to On3’s Hayes Fawcett, Koziol is now headed to the University of Houston.
Koziol was projected to be the central figure under Jeff Grimes’ tight-end-reliant system, emphasizing versatile usage in passing and blocking schemes. Kozial’s departure signifies another hit to Wisconsin’s tight end room, where they struggled last year.
Freshman Rob Booker II medically retired during the offseason, and redshirt senior Riley Nowakowski transferred to Indiana. Returning players Tucker Ashcraft, J.T. Seagraves and Jackson McGohan combined for 17 receptions in 2024. These factors leave the position thinner on both experience and depth.
In response to the growing need, the Badgers flipped redshirt senior Jackson Acker to a hybrid fullback/tight end this spring. While the move brings experience and athleticism to the position group, Acker still needs to adjust to the new role's responsibilities.
The Badgers will now need to either seek alternative reinforcements through the spring portal or rely on Ashcraft, who has emerged as the current TE1 during spring ball. Either way, Koziol’s departure leaves Wisconsin with urgent questions for a position critical to the success of their revamped offense and few immediate answers.
“That position is one of the most difficult to learn in this offense,” Grimes said on April 11. “Then they’ve got to be able to pass protect, particularly in the play-action game. And then they’ve got to be able to hopefully run routes like a receiver would when we extend them out.”
Grimes’ system leans heavily on the tight end position, not just as blockers but as intermediate pass-catching threats. Without a reliable playmaker at the position, the Badgers may need to adjust their offensive scheme or risk becoming less multidimensional.
For a team coming off a 5-7 season and trying to establish a more physical, balanced attack, Koziol’s absence will create both a talent void and a strategic dilemma.
