The Wisconsin Badgers football team is two weeks away from their season opener against Western Michigan on Aug. 30. In that time, Arkansas transfer linebacker Jaheim Thomas is gearing up for his first year in Madison.
Thomas, a redshirt senior, transferred to Wisconsin in January after spending the 2023 campaign with the Razorbacks, recording 90 total tackles, 3.5 sacks and two pass deflections over 12 games.
Prior to ending up at Arkansas, the linebacker spent the first three years of his collegiate career at Cincinnati under current Badgers head coach Luke Fickell and defensive coordinator Mike Tressel.
“Not a lot has changed. We have got a lot more intense since I’ve been here. That’s one thing I like. Makes sure guys are on their toes every single day, you have to bring it every single day,” Thomas explained.
I was able to go one-on-one with @BadgerFootball linebacker Jaheim Thomas (@JaheimThomas454) after Wisconsin’s practice today, asking him about his versatility and more!
“I’m an aggressive player, I like to blitz a lot… it gets me going, it warms me up”#Badgers #Wisconsin pic.twitter.com/R2onyfYTIl
— Nick Bruesewitz (@NickBruesewitz) August 15, 2024
The Badgers’ defense struggled to get pressure on the quarterback in 2023, finishing the season with 29.0 total team sacks, which ranked tied for 56th in the nation. Thomas believes that the team has committed to raising their sack numbers in 2024.
“That’s what we pride ourselves on. That’s one thing that when I got here, I talked to guys like DP (Darryl Peterson), John (Pius), Leon (Lowery), Aaron Witt. We want to get to the quarterback, we want to have a whole lot more sacks this year,” Thomas said.
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Wisconsin will open their season by hosting Western Michigan (Aug. 30) and South Dakota (Sept. 7) before they’ll face a major test with Alabama coming to town Sept. 14.