Badger of Honor
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Evaluating Wisconsin Football’s new moves in the 2020 class

By Sam Land

EVANSTON, IL - NOVEMBER 05: Head coach Paul Chryst of the Wisconsin Bagers waits with his team to enter the field before a game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on November 5, 2016 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
EVANSTON, IL - NOVEMBER 05: Head coach Paul Chryst of the Wisconsin Bagers waits with his team to enter the field before a game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on November 5, 2016 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Wisconsin Football - Ryan Connelly
(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Linebacker

Outside Linebacker – Malik Reed

Chandler (Chandler, AZ) outside linebacker Malik Reed tweeted out a Wisconsin offer back on December 3. 247Sports is high on the 6’1, 195-pound prospect, ranking him 27th nationally at his position and 361st overall.

Wisconsin is the third school to throw its hat into the ring here, following Arizona and Indiana. However, Reed looks poised to collect plenty of other high-profile offers in time: recruiting powers such as Alabama, Arizona State, Nebraska, Oregon, UCLA, and USC have also shown interest in him.

Take a look at Reed’s film and it will become clear why he should become highly sought after soon. He possesses a versatile skill set that is always in high demand, as he compliments his impressive pass-rushing ability with the capability to also drop back and serve as a reliable asset in coverage. Any program, especially one that runs utilizes a 3-4 defense like Wisconsin, could use a player like that.

The Badgers have had success at Reed’s high school recently, having signed defensive end Garrett Rand out of Chandler back in 2016.

Outside Linebacker – Derek Wingo

Wisconsin once again dips into the vast pool of talent at powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, this time offering outside linebacker Derek Wingo last Tuesday. The Badgers have his teammate, cornerback Semar Melvin, committed in their 2019 class and have offered three of his classmates in offensive tackle Marcus Dumervil, wide receiver Marcus Rosemy (more on him later, and safety Lejond Cavazos.

Wingo is a 4-star prospect and currently ranks as the No. 10 outside linebacker in the country. It’s going to be tough for Wisconsin to make much noise in this one, as the Badgers will have to go up against behemoths such as Clemson, Miami, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Georgia, Michigan, and Texas. The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions already look to be ahead in the race to get his signature.

However, while beating out either of those teams, not to mention the other blue bloods that have offered, is not likely, Wisconsin has a proud linebacker tradition of its own that is a proven seller on the recruiting trail. Consider the case of 2019 commit Spencer Lytle, another highly-regarded linebacker recruit who had his pick of several national powers, but ultimately chose Wisconsin over Clemson in the end. It does not happen often, but Wisconsin is definitely capable of winning these type of battles.