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Wisconsin holds on to top defensive recruit

Connor O'Gara

By Connor O'Gara

Published:

Take a deep breath, Wisconsin fans.

Garrett Rand is still coming to Madison.

That news became official on Wednesday when the Badgers announced they received the four-star defensive end’s signed letter of intent. The Chandler, Arizona product is Wisconsin’s top-rated defensive recruit.

There was concern when Rand, who had been committed to the Badgers since October, took a late official visit to UCLA after Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda left for LSU in the beginning of January.

The Badgers didn’t name a replacement until last week when they hired USC defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox.

Rand said that he wanted to wait and see what kind of system the new coordinator wanted to use. Apparently, Wilcox talked the U.S. Army All-American into keeping his commitment.

The Badgers currently boast the sixth-ranked class in the B1G and the 31st-ranked 2016 class overall in the 247sports rankings.

Connor O'Gara

Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.