Former Wisconsin wide receiver transfers to play for Phil Longo
Former Wisconsin wide receiver transfers to play for Phil Longo
Wisconsin transfer wide receiver Grady O'Neill committed to Sam Houston State on Wednesday.
O'Neill is now the fourth former Badger to join Sam Houston State this offseason. That growing number is no coincidence: Bearkats head coach K.C. Keeler left for the Temple job after an impressive 9-3 2024 regular season, opening the door for the program to hire Phil Longo -- Wisconsin's recently fired offensive coordinator.
Other now-former Badgers off to play for Longo at Sam Houston State are redshirt freshman quarterback Mabrey Mettauer, redshirt sophomore cornerback Jace Arnold and class of 2025 quarterback Landyn Locke.
Sam Houston State is Longo's first head coaching job since he led La Salle from 2004-05. He was previously the Bearkats' offensive coordinator from 2014-16 before making the jump to the Power Four level, first at Ole Miss (2017-18), then at North Carolina (2019-22) and finally at Wisconsin (2023-24). Wisconsin fired the veteran coordinator in mid-November last season after a home loss to Oregon. He was hired at Sam Houston State just a month later.
O'Neill joins Longo with the Bearkats after three years at Wisconsin. He originally joined the program as a preferred walk-on in 2022, then stuck around when Luke Fickell took over in November of that year. O'Neill appeared in just three games during his Wisconsin career, all on special teams during the 2024 season.
He joins Sam Houston State as a redshirt junior with two years of eligibility remaining.
Wisconsin enters 2025 with returning contributors Trech Kekahuna and Vinny Anthony, plus transfers Mark Hamper (Idaho) and Jayden Ballard (Ohio State) set to lead its wide receiver room. The group's play will be a major story as new coordinator Jeff Grimes returns the program to its pro-style roots, a significant departure from Longo's air raid approach.
Wisconsin averaged just 23.5 and 22.6 points per game in 2023 and 2024, respectively, with Longo leading the offense. The unit will need to take a major step forward in 2025 if the Badgers are to overcome a gauntlet schedule and return to bowl eligibility.
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