UW lineman Michael Furtney's stay in the transfer portal was brief and he is glad to be back in Madison
PLATTEVILLE – Michael Furtney’s trip into the transfer portal lasted one week.
The offensive lineman from Milan, Michigan, entered the portal last December looking for a fresh start after Luke Fickell took over as Wisconsin’s head football coach.
He exited the portal one week later and decided to return to UW for his sixth season after a meeting with Fickell and subsequent meetings with offensive coordinator Phil Longo and offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr.
The 180-degree turn started when Fickell called Furtney while in Chicago. He asked if the two could meet that night after Fickell returned to Madison. Furtney said yes.
“We had a great conversation,” said Furtney, a sixth-year senior guard who started nine of 13 games last season. “I said: ‘Hey coach, my mind is still going in the same direction. But I am open to whenever you hire the OC and O-line coach, to talking to them.’
“Sure enough, when he hired Coach Longo and Coach Bicknell, they got in Friday and I talked to them on Saturday.”
Bicknell Jr. took the initiative to call Furtney to set up a meeting: ‘I called him up and (said): ‘Get your butt over here. Let’s talk. You haven’t even met us yet.’”
Furtney told Bicknell he was looking to start over.
“I said you’ve got a fresh start,” Bicknell Jr. countered. “You’ve got all new people here. So, why would you leave a place that you love just to get a fresh start? We were able to talk him out of it, which was very good for us … He is all bought in and fired up.”
Furtney closed the season by starting at guard in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl and worked at right guard with the No. 1 line all spring. He entered preseason camp with 12 starts, including the nine last season, and 44 games played.
He opened camp as the No. 1 right guard, with Tanor Bortolini at center and Joe Huber at left guard. The guard spots probably aren’t set in stone, however.
Once Jake Renfro (foot) can take over at center, Bortolini likely will move back to guard. The staff will then have to decide which two players will start and who will have to slide into a reserve role.
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Furtney explained he was ready to return to UW and compete.
“They brought everything to the table that I wanted,” he said of meeting with Bicknell Jr. and Longo. “And if I get to be with the guys I really care about and in the city that I love, the Motion W, and I get to play for a staff that represents everything I want, it is really a no-brainer.
“I couldn’t get my name out quick enough.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lineman Michael Furtney at home with Badgers after pondering transfer
