Wisconsin’s outside linebacker room is staring at a big chunk of production that has to be replaced in 2026, and Tyreese Fearbry is one of the names right in the middle of that conversation.
The fifth-year senior is No. 24 in Badger247’s ranking of the 30 players most important to Luke Fickell’s team this season, and the case for him is pretty straightforward: he has size, athleticism and a chance to take a real step forward if Wisconsin can tap into more of what made him such a coveted recruit.
Fearbry came out of Perry Traditional Academy in Pennsylvania as a four-star prep linebacker, and his recruiting profile drew interest from Kentucky, Penn State, Auburn, Pittsburgh and Arizona State, among others. He was part of the 2022 class and ranked as a top 200 player nationally.
At Kentucky, he appeared in 27 games across three seasons and finished with 21 total tackles before entering the transfer portal in the winter of 2024 as the No. 13 available edge, according to 247Sports. He ultimately picked Wisconsin over Florida Atlantic, among others, and played in all 12 games last season.
There’s still one year of eligibility left, and the Badgers are hoping Year 2 in Madison looks a lot different from Year 1. Fearbry’s first season with Wisconsin was uneven.
He logged 73 snaps and 8.0 tackles, which is not much output for a player the staff clearly believes has more in him. The low point came before the Iowa game, when an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty forced Wisconsin to kick from its own 20-yard line in a 37-0 loss at Camp Randall.
Still, there were signs this spring that he could be headed in the right direction. At 6-foot-4 and 252 pounds, Fearbry is one of the more versatile and athletically gifted players in the outside linebacker room.
He also held down consistent starting reps opposite Sebastian Cheeks during camp, and that stretch was helped by Justus Boone being limited. By the time summer workouts rolled around, he had some momentum.
“I give Tyreese a lot of credit,” Mitchell told reporters in April. “You guys were all there.
There were some highs and lows last year. Obviously Iowa, before the ball was even snapped.
But he's come a long ways.”
Wisconsin’s challenge is bigger than one player, of course. Mason Reiger and Darryl Peterson combined for 899 defensive snaps last season, and that kind of workload doesn’t disappear quietly. Cheeks, Fearbry, Boone and Nicolas Clayton look like the top four options heading into fall camp, with veterans Micheal Garner and Liam Danitz also in the room and younger players like Jaylen Williams pushing for time.
That’s why Fearbry matters here. He doesn’t have to be the face of the defense.
He doesn’t even have to be the loudest voice in the room. What Wisconsin needs is steadiness, a cleaner season and the version of him that showed up more often this spring than he did in 2025.
“The team results weren't there, but I really had a blast coaching those guys last year,” Mitchell said. “Lose a lot of production but I feel really good about the talent level in the room.”
If Fearbry gives the Badgers that stable, productive edge presence in his final season in Madison, it would go a long way toward softening the loss of all that departed production.
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