Former Badgers starter looking to return to college football for 5th season after new ruling

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The floodgates for college football may have opened this past weekend, as a court ruling on Friday night allowed players in the Class of 2022 to receive a fifth year of eligibility. As a result, several players have been reportedly exploring a return to college football for the 2026 season, creating some major uncertainty ahead of next season.

Among that group of players? Former Wisconsin Badgers starting kicker Nathanial Vakos, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Vakos, a four-year college starter, spent the last three seasons at Wisconsin after his freshman year at Ohio. Interestingly, he had his best season as a freshman, going 22 of 27 (81.5 percent) on field goals in 2022. That included a long of 56 yards.

Across three seasons at Wisconsin, Vakos went 34 of 49 (69.4 percent) on field goals, with that number being under 65 percent the last two years. Vakos had been 100 percent on extra points during that span.

With Vakos out of eligibility, the Badgers are turning to Gavin Lahm this season as their kicker. Lahm had been the team’s kickoff specialist in 2025 and has zero career field goal or extra point attempts.

We’ll see how the fight for a fifth year drags on throughout the offseason, but one former Badger could be joining the group and playing in 2026.

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