Charles Perkins didn’t arrive in Madison with much noise last season, but the Wisconsin defensive lineman is suddenly in position to make a lot of it in 2026.
After transferring from FCS UT-Martin, Perkins logged just 73 defensive snaps in 2025 and finished as the No. 5 defensive lineman behind Ben Barten, Jay'Viar Suggs, Brandon Lane and Parker Petersen. That quiet first year is now in the rearview mirror. With the Badgers looking for answers up front, Perkins has a real shot to move from depth piece to one of the main names in the room.
Defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow said the offseason has changed the conversation around him.
“Perk has had an amazing spring for us. Year one, he battled some ankle injuries," Whitlow said.
"The juice that he provides every single day. He’s really been competing.
His effort to the football, his strain level has increased. He’s done a phenomenal job of using the techniques and playing with the techniques that we’re coaching here.
I’m expecting some good things out of him.”
At 6-foot-2 and 330 pounds, Perkins is the heaviest lineman on Wisconsin’s roster, just ahead of Buffalo transfer Junior Poyser. The nickname fits.
“Big Perc” is built like a load, but he moves with more quickness than you’d expect from someone that size. He’s the kind of defensive tackle who can look like a space-eater one snap and a surprisingly nimble athlete the next.
Perkins said he reported for spring ball at about 335 pounds, and Wisconsin wants him trimmed down to somewhere between 320 and 315. If he gets there and keeps the same power, the Badgers may have something special on their hands.
The room itself is still up for grabs. No one has locked down the top spot yet, and Perkins has every chance to force his way into that conversation alongside Hammond Russell IV, Junior Poyser and Dillan Johnson. That uncertainty is part of what makes him such an intriguing name heading into the fall.
He’s now in his fifth season of college football and has spent more than a year inside Wisconsin’s strength and conditioning program. He’s also already taken the Big Ten hit and kept coming. That combination of size, experience and physicality gives him a strong foundation, especially in a defensive line rotation that was sturdy for much of last season.
Defensive coordinator Mike Tressel was asked this spring which interior player had caught his eye, and he didn’t hesitate.
"Well first of all I gotta say this, (Perkins) has...come on, knock on wood, keep rolling...but he's shown great strides. That's really exciting to see."
There’s a pretty wide range of outcomes here. In the best case, Perkins becomes Wisconsin’s top defensive lineman, turns into one of the conference’s more overlooked interior defenders and puts himself on the NFL radar by the end of the season. In the worst case, he never quite finds consistency and his role shrinks.
A middle ground feels very possible, too. Even if Russell, Poyser and Johnson all stay ahead of him at times, Perkins could still end up playing several hundred snaps in a steady rotation. With his size and experience, it’s hard to see him falling much farther than that.
The bigger point is that Perkins looks like a different player now than he did a year ago. Defensive tackles in this system aren’t going to pile up flashy numbers, but he seems set up to start and hold his own. Add in the thick Tennessee drawl and the pile of nicknames, and he has the makings of a fall fan favorite.
A line in the neighborhood of 20 tackles and somewhere between one and five sacks feels like a fair expectation for the former FCS standout.
In Other News...
Wisconsins RB Battle Could Decide Whether The Badgers Run Game Is Back
Wisconsins running back room looks a lot different heading into 2026, and that alone makes it one of the more interesting position groups on the roster. The Badgers added Abu Sama III, Bryan Jackson, Nate Palmer and Julius Pope through the transfer portal to join returning back Darrion Dupree, giving the offense a deeper and more varied mix of runners than it had a year ago. The hope is simple enough: more options, better efficiency and a ground game that looks more like Wisconsin football again.
The challenge is figuring out how all those pieces fit, especially with the offensive line still carrying plenty of weight in whether the run game actually takes off. Sama brings upside but was limited in spring because of injury, Jackson profiles as a sturdy fit for early-down and red-zone work, and Palmer and Pope look like depth pieces who can help keep the room fresh. Dupree remains part of the conversation too, which leaves the Badgers with a group that has real potential, but still plenty to sort out before anyone can say the backfield is settled. [Read more 🡒]
Luke Fickell Just Landed A Florida Defensive Win Wisconsin Needed
Wisconsins recruiting push in Florida picked up a notable boost with the commitment of linebacker Cale Britt, a four-star prospect from Bishop Moore in the Orlando area who has already built a reputation as a productive defender. He becomes the Badgers first commitment in the 2028 class, a useful early marker for a program that has been leaning into out-of-state recruiting while continuing to make defense a central part of its identity.
Britt picked Wisconsin over other major programs, including Oregon and Minnesota, with additional schools also showing interest along the way. For the Badgers, the bigger significance may be what this says about their reach beyond the Midwest, especially in a state that has not often sent this kind of linebacker talent to Madison. The commitment gives Wisconsin an early defensive head start, and it adds another layer to how Fickell and his staff are trying to sell the program nationally. [Read more 🡒]
Nolan Winter Sees Early Signs Wisconsin Landed Two Difference Makers
While recovering from offseason ankle surgery, Nolan Winter has still had a front-row seat to Wisconsins summer practices, and the early read on two of the Badgers newcomers has been encouraging. Winter came away impressed with point guard Owen Foxwells feel for the game and with forward Victory Onuetus ability to bring a different kind of presence to the floor, two additions Wisconsin is counting on to help shape the teams identity on both ends.
Foxwell has already stood out for the way he handles the offense and creates for others, while also showing enough scoring punch to keep defenses honest. Onuetu, meanwhile, has caught Winters eye with his athleticism, rebounding and physical edge, the kind of traits that can change the tone of a practice and, eventually, give Wisconsin more balance in the frontcourt as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]