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Wisconsin Football: Sophomore defensive end leaves program

By Sam Land

LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 07: A cheerleader for the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates a score against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 07: A cheerleader for the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates a score against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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Wisconsin Football just got a little bit thinner on the defensive line with the departure of defensive end Keldric Preston.

Wisconsin Football will be without yet another young player on its defense going forward, as redshirt sophomore defensive end Keldric Preston has evidently left the program.

The departure was first discovered on Thursday by Jon McNamara of Rivals, who noticed that Preston was no longer listed on Wisconsin’s online roster. A UW official confirmed the move later that day to Bucky’s 5th Quarter.

As far as we can tell, no reason has been given for his departure to this point.

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This is pure speculation, but there is a bit of a logjam of young players at the defensive end position with guys like Isaiahh Loudermilk, Kayden Lyles, Matt Henningsen, Aaron Vopal, Isaiah Mullens, and Boyd Dietzen. None of those players is older (in terms of eligibility) than a sophomore. Garrett Rand will also be returning next season, most likely with two more years of eligibility. It’s possible Preston is leaving the program to seek opportunities elsewhere where playing time could be easier to come by, but again, that is just a theory. There has been no confirmation that he is looking to transfer.

Preston had not appeared in any of Wisconsin’s first four games this season.

He was a 3-star recruit in the Badgers’ 2016 class out of Tampa, FL, choosing Wisconsin over other programs such as Boston College, Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Mississippi State, Penn State, Pitt, USF, and Wake Forest. Once on campus, Preston took a redshirt in his first season with the program. As a redshirt freshman in 2017, he recorded one tackle in Wisconsin’s first game against Utah State.

Preston is the fourth scholarship defensive player to leave the program since the start of the season, joining cornerback Dontye Carriere-Williams, safety Patrick Johnson, and linebacker Arrington Farrar.

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Carriere-Williams has since landed at Independence Community College, the junior college that was featured on the latest season of Netflix’s documentary series Last Chance U.