Mark D’Onofrio was hired as Wisconsin’s ILB coach on Jun. 10, and he’s pumped to get started. He is especially ready to get to work with DC Jim Leonhard per Mike Lucas of uwbadgers.com.

His last coaching gig was as Houston’s DC back in 2018. He will be working with 6th-year DC Leonhard. The previous ILB coach Bill Sheridan stepped down after amid an NCAA investigation during his time at Air Force. Based on these comments, it looks like D’Onofrio has a lot of admiration for Leonhard.

Here’s what he had to say about him:

“Obviously, Jim is extremely bright, and he has put his own spin on this defense and evolved it each year to continue to get it better,” said D’Onofrio. “I’m excited to be a part of that. I have an appreciation for the job Jim has to do and I want to do my part at my position to help make his job easier. I’m excited to be a part of that”

We’ll see how D’Onofrio’s inside linebackers look when Wisconsin opens the 2022 season against Illinois State on Sept. 3.