Tag: defensive linemen

Wisconsin football offers promising class of 2026 defensive lineman

Wisconsin football offers promising class of 2026 defensive lineman

Wisconsin football extended an offer to three-star class of 2026 defensive lineman King Liggins on Sunday.

Liggins is the third 2026 defensive lineman to receive an offer from the Badgers since late May, joining four-star DL Gabriel Hill and four-star EDGE McHale Blade. Wisconsin also offered running back Jaeden Hill, wide receiver Madden Williams and athlete Jakob Weatherspoon over the past two days.

The 6-foot-4, 265-pound three-star represents Brother Rice High School in Illinois. 247Sports ranks him as the No. 40 defensive lineman and No. 10 recruit from Illinois for the class of 2026.

Hill also holds 11 offers thus far, including from Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Kansas State, Iowa State, Miami and Wisconsin.

247Sports has yet to release a crystal ball prediction, but On3’s recruiting prediction machine heavily favors Kansas State at this stage in the process.

While UW appears to allocate more of its attention to the class of 2026, Rivals currently has Wisconsin’s 2025 recruiting class ranked No. 6 in the nation. The group has 19 commitments and eight since official visits began in June.

2025 DL recruits Drayden Pavey, Wilnerson Telemaque and Kyler Garcia are among Wisconsin’s main defensive priorities during a month littered with official visits for some of the most talented recruits in the nation.

With Liggins, the Badgers have offered 11 defensive linemen for 2026 but have yet to receive a commitment. Wisconsin’s defensive line depth chart this fall includes James Thompson Jr., Curt Neal, Ben Barten, Elijah Hills (transfer) and Brandon Lane — a flipped transfer commit from Louisville.

Wisconsin football makes the top five schools for class of 2025 DL target

Wisconsin football makes the top five schools for class of 2025 DL target

Wisconsin football class of 2025 defensive lineman target Kyler Garcia announced his top five schools via social media on Thursday.

Wisconsin is among the Teneesee native’s final list, along with Georgia, Purdue, Louisville and Indiana. The Pearl-Cohn High School product had garnered 16 Division 1 offers before whittling the list down to five.

The announcement arrives just one day before Garcia will venture to Madison for an official visit with the Badgers. Most notably, Garcia has already taken a pair of official visits to Louisville the weekend of May 31 and Purdue on June 7. Following Wisconsin, he is slated to meet with the Indiana Hoosiers the weekend of June 21.

The rising senior is 247Sports’ No. 118 player at his position in the class of 2025 and No. 26 recruit from the state of Tennessee. UW offered the three-star recruit on May 22. Both Rivals and 247Sports have the 6-foot-5, 275-pound lineman ranked as a three-star recruit.

247Sports has Wisconsin’s 2025 recruiting class ranked No. 14 in the nation with 17 commitments at this stage in the process. The group just landed its first defensive lineman: former Minnesota commit Torin Pettaway.

This fall, Wisconsin’s defensive line depth chart includes James Thompson Jr., Curt Neal, Ben Barten, Elijah Hills (transfer) and Brandon Lane — a flipped transfer commit from Louisville.

Garcia and Wilnerson Telemaque are the two main defensive line targets set to visit the program before the end of the month.

Wisconsin adds three-star class of 2025 defensive lineman to official visit list

Wisconsin adds three-star class of 2025 defensive lineman to official visit list

Wisconsin class of 2025 defensive line target Kyler Garcia will officially visit the Badgers the weekend of June 14.

The program offered the three-star recruit on May 22. Both Rivals and 247Sports have the 6-foot-5, 275-pound lineman ranked as a three-star recruit.

As rising senior representing Pearl-Cohn High School in Nashville, Tennessee, Garcia is 247Sports’ No. 118 player at his position in the class of 2025 and No. 26 recruit from the state of Tennessee.

The defensive lineman has garnered 16 Division 1 offers to this point, including from Georgia, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisville, Purdue, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Memphis.

Most notably, Garcia has already taken a pair of official visits to Louisville the weekend of May 31 and Purdue on June 7. Following Wisconsin, he is slated to meet with the Indiana Hoosiers the weekend of June 21.

247Sports has Wisconsin’s 2025 recruiting class ranked No. 13 in the nation with 17 commitments at this stage in the process. The group just landed its first defensive lineman: former Minnesota commit Torin Pettaway.

This fall, Wisconsin’s defensive line depth chart includes James Thompson Jr., Curt Neal, Ben Barten, Elijah Hills (transfer) and Brandon Lane — a flipped transfer commit from Louisville.

Garcia and Wilnerson Telemaque are the two main defensive line targets set to visit the program before the end of the month.

Wisconsin top class of 2025 DL target to announce commitment June 18

Wisconsin top class of 2025 DL target to announce commitment June 18

Wisconsin three-star class of 2025 defensive line target Wilnerson Telemaque will announce his collegiate commitment at 1:00 p.m. central on Tuesday, June 18.

The Opa Locka, Florida product recently listed Wisconsin, Florida, West Virginia and Georgia Tech as his final four schools. The 6-foot-6, 257-pound tackle officially visited the Badgers on June 7 and is slated to venture to Georgia Tech for a visit weekend of June 14.

Of note, Telemaque’s final four schools differs significantly from his group of six finalists from April. That group included Colorado, Florida, LSU, West Virginia, Missouri and Minnesota.

The three-star defensive lineman is 247Sports’ No. 706 player in the class of 2025, No. 72 defensive lineman and No. 56 recruit from the state of Florida.

 

The service currently has Wisconsin’s 2025 recruiting class ranked No. 13 in the nation. The group has 17 commitments and six since official visits began in June. Telemaque would be the second defensive lineman to join the group after the Badgers flipped Minnesota commit Torin Pettaway.

Wisconsin’s defensive line depth chart this fall includes James Thompson Jr., Curt Neal, Ben Barten, Elijah Hills (transfer) and Brandon Lane — a flipped transfer commit from Louisville.

UW will also focus on DL target Kyler Garcia, a new addition to its June 14 official visit window.

Wisconsin class of 2025 DL target cancels official visit to ACC school

Wisconsin class of 2025 DL target cancels official visit to ACC school

Wisconsin class of 2025 defensive line target Drayden Pavey canceled his official visit to NC State on Monday.

On May 3, the three-star included Wisconsin, Purdue and Indiana in his top three schools. Pavey officially visited the Boilermakers this past weekend and will venture to Madison the weekend of June 14.

The Cincinnati, Ohio product is 247Sports’ No. 1,049 recruit in the nation, No. 100 defensive lineman and No. 43 recruit from his home state of Ohio in the class of 2025.

Wisconsin extended an offer to the three-star recruit on April 21. In total, the 6-foot-3, 305-pounder has received 22 offers. The most notable include from Pittsburgh, Louisville, Cincinnati, Purdue, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Wisconsin’s current class of 2025 is ranked No. 13 in the nation with 16 commits. Five of them have committed during UW’s official visit cycle.

With experience on both the offensive and defensive line at Robert A. Taft Information Technology High School, Pavey could become the first defensive lineman to commit to Luke Fickell’s program from the class of 2025.

Even though Pavey elected to not include NC State in his final batch of schools, the cancelation indicates his resolve surrounding his choice. UW has a real chance to land another defensive weapon.

Wisconsin football loses class of 2025 DL target to rival Minnesota

Wisconsin football loses class of 2025 DL target to rival Minnesota

Wisconsin football class of 2025 defensive line target Abu Tarawallie announced his commitment to Minnesota on Friday.

Tarawallie became the latest Wisconsin class of 2025 target to commit elsewhere this past week, joining several three-star recruits like WR Vernon Allen III, iOL N’Kye Wynn and RB Bo Jackson, to name a few.

Related: Ranking the highest rated recruits in the history of Wisconsin football

The 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive lineman recently included Wisconsin among his top four schools. Michigan State and Kansas State rounded out that group.

The Heritage Christian Academy product also chose Minnesota over other offers including Oklahoma, Penn State, Kansas and Iowa State.

Similar to other Badger 2025 targets, Tarawallie had multiple official visits scheduled in June. He was slated to visit the Badgers the weekend of June 21.

Tarawallie is 247Sports’ No. 707 player in the class of 2025, No. 73 defensive lineman and No. 2 recruit from his home state of Minnesota.

Luke Fickell’s class currently ranks No. 15 in the nation with 14 players committed. Within the past two weeks, the Badgers secured commitments from three-star OT Nolan Davenport, four-star OT Logan Powell and three-star CB Rukeem Stroud.

UW has seen several DL targets either commit or transfer elsewhere. Fortunately, Wisconsin will continue to host a bevy of potential commits during official visits throughout the month of June.

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Defensive Interior linemen squarely on Raiders draft radar

We could very well see the Raiders select one of these defensive linemen in April’s draft

For the second offseason in a row, the Raiders saw a near-complete overhaul on the defensive interior line. The one holdover has been nose tackle Johnathan Hankins.

However, there is a big difference between what the Raiders did last year and what they have done this year. Last year they scooped up several guys who were either proven (Quinton Jefferson), had success in the past (Darius Philon) or had the potential as a once highly regarded prospect (Solomon Thomas).

The closest they have to a proven player among the new additions is Bilal Nichols, who has 11 sacks over his four NFL seasons and has been a full-time starter the past three seasons.

What is needed is a young interior rusher to compete for snaps in a rotation. Here are some potential interior linemen who would be just what the Raiders need and could be on the board when they make their picks.

13 prospects to watch for Chiefs on Day 3 of combine workouts

Day 3 of the on-field drills at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine features defensive linemen and linebackers. Here are some prospects to watch for the #Chiefs:

The 2022 NFL Scouting Combine continues on Saturday with more on-field drills and workouts. You can watch the defensive linemen and linebackers work out from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. CT on NFL Network.

The Kansas City Chiefs have the unique task of adding some young contributors who can help this team get back to the Super Bowl after falling short in 2021. They managed to snag three key contributors (Nick Bolton, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith) across the 2021 NFL draft just a season ago. Can they add more instant impact players through the 2022 NFL draft?

Keep an eye on the following players from the three positions groups working out on Friday. A standout performance could put any number of those players squarely on the radar for Brett Veach and company.

LSU Defensive End Ali Gaye among the top defenders in the SEC

LSU Tigers’ defensive end Ali Gaye ranks high among defensive linemen in the SEC.

In the upcoming season for the Louisiana State Tigers, the defense is expected to have a much bigger impact than last year. Bo Pelini is out as defensive coordinator and Daronte Jones replaces him. For the Tigers to have a major impact, their defensive line needs to be much more disruptive in the 2021 season.

Recently the Tuscaloosa News broke down the top 10 defensive linemen in the Southeastern Conference. They were voted on by a group of 19 sports writers across the network. Current defensive end Ali Gaye came in at No. 6 overall.

Ali Gaye, 62 points

(Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Gaye led LSU with 9.5 tackles behind the line and was second with two sacks on a bad defense in 2020. He will be key for new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones, who inherits the worst unit in school history.

In his first full season as a starter, Gaye finished out the year with 32 total tackles. He played a major role with 9.5 coming behind the line of scrimmage and added two sacks and one interception. He may not be the sack leader that his counterpart Andre Anthony is, but Gaye will definitely make an impact on the defensive side of the ball with his disruption.

Gaye was graded as the highest defensive lineman and second-highest overall on the team by Pro Football Focus. He led the team with 38 total pressures and 27 quarterback hurries. Gaye will look to lead by example when the Tigers take the field against UCLA when the season kicks off in September.

Lions defensive line moving up in several rankings

The Lions have upgraded the DL and outlets have noticed

The Detroit Lions defensive line has not been a source of pride in the last couple of seasons. However, some smart additions and a new scheme have the unit pointing up for 2021.

In its latest positional rankings, Pro Football Focus placed the Lions defensive line at No. 24 overall. While that might still seem low, Detroit finished last year at No. 30 in PFF’s grading. The reason for the bump comes in the comments highlighting several of the new additions to the unit,

Detroit’s defensive line unit finished the 2020 season ranked 30th in PFF grade, ahead of only the Vikings and Texans. Several offseason additions on the interior — such as Michael Brockers, Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill — along with the return of a healthy Trey Flowers should improve matters in 2021, but the Lions still have a ways to go to get back to average.

The Lions fare a little better at FTN, where former Lions analyst Brett Whitefield ranked Detroit with the 19th-best DL. FTN’s rankings are more geared for fantasy football, but the expected bump in production would certainly count as real progress in the overall play of the new-look defensive front.

Finally, Michael Nania at Jets X-Factor combined some analytical data and projections and ranked the Lions at No. 24. Interestingly, the run defense fares quite well in this metric.

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