Tag: Rodas Johnson

Former Wisconsin defensive lineman commits to an SEC power

Former Wisconsin defensive lineman commits to an SEC power

Former Wisconsin defensive lineman Rodas Johnson committed to Texas A&M last night.

Johnson played for the Badgers from 2019 to 2023. He was a full-time starter in 2022 and 2023, during which he played in 24 contests and recorded 42 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks and two pass deflections.

He now commits to a Texas A&M program under new head coach Mike Elko that currently has 17 transfer commitments and the No. 3-ranked transfer class in the country.

Johnson leaves behind a defensive line room in Madison that will rely on James Thompson Jr., Curt Neal, T.J. Bollers and others to hold strong up front. Where things stand today, it’s likely the biggest weakness on the team entering 2024.

Out of all of the transfers Wisconsin has lost this offseason, Johnson may prove to be the most impactful.

Breaking: Former Wisconsin DL Rodas Johnson will transfer to Texas A&M

Texas A&M has gained another big man, as former Wisconsin defensive lineman Rodas Johnson will transfer to Texas A&M.

That’s now 12 transfer portal additions in the last 72 hours for Texas A&M and head coach Mike Elko, as the incredible hot streak continues in less than two months on the job. On Saturday, the streak continued as four more portal members announced their commitments, including former Wisconsin defensive tackle Rodas Johnson.

After spending four seasons with the Badgers, Johnson, who stands at 6′ 2″ and weighs over 300 pounds, appeared in 38 games and 22 starts, with over 50 tackles in his career. Due to his size, Johson brings substantial versatility to the trenches and has a chance to compete for the Aggies’ vacant nose tackle position.

Johnson, who came out of the 2019 recruiting class as a three-star prospect, received a lot of interest in the transfer portal from multiple Power 5 programs due to his size and Big 10 experience.

Johnson joins former Florida linebacker Scooby Williams and cornerback Jaydon Hill, while former Troy offensive tackle Derrick Graham is Elko’s first portal commit on the offensive line.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

Wisconsin DE Rodas Johnson delivers message to Badger nation as he enters the portal

The Badgers DE enters the portal

A player who was a mainstay on the Wisconsin defense is now in the transfer portal. Badger defensive end Rodas Johnson has officially announced he will be entering the portal with a year of eligibility remaining.

Johnson was a key piece of the Wisconsin defense over the past couple of seasons and had 50 tackles and 2.5 sacks throughout 34 games as a Badger.

He was originally recruited by Paul Chryst and Joe Rudolph under the previous Wisconsin regime, and thanked those coaches in his farewell post on X yesterday. Here is a look at Johnson’s goodbye to Madison as he embarks on the final year of his college football journey:

Badgers defensive lineman enters transfer portal

Another Badgers defender enters portal

The college football transfer portal is open and another Badgers player decided to enter his name into it as defensive lineman Rodas Johnson will look for a new home in 2024.

After four seasons with Wisconsin, Johnson still has one more year of eligibility, which he will now likely use with another program. The defensive lineman finished the 2023 campaign with 19 total tackles, including a half-sack, over the team’s 12 regular season contest.

The Badgers will square off with LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 1, a contest Johnson will not appear as he joins the likes of linebacker Jordan Turner and wide receivers Chimere Dike and Skyler Bell in entering the transfer portal.

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Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin: Third-Quarter Analysis

Oh boy.

Just when it looked like Notre Dame might take control of the game, Wisconsin has come out in the second half looking like a different team. While they haven’t lost control of it, the outcome is a lot more uncertain. We have a 10-10 tie after three quarters.

The Irish’s offense gain no yardage on its first two drives, but something more serious might have happened instead. Jack Coan was sacked on one play and something appeared to happen to his knee. It was serious enough that he went to the locker room, forcing Drew Pyne into action. More on that in a moment.

On the first play of the Badgers’ second possession, Graham Mertz hit Chez Mellusi for a 35-yard completion. He then found Kendric Pryor on two of the next three plays, the latter of which was an 8-yard touchdown pass, Mertz’s first of the season. Hey, it took him long enough.

Pyne had a decent first drive, getting the offense from its own 16-yard line to the Wisconsin 39. That was as far as it got, though it set up Jay Bramblett to punt the ball 37 yards to 7. The Badgers went three-and-out, and a 10-yard punt return by Kyren Williams allowed the Irish to start in Badgers territory. But any hope for a successful drive was immediately dashed when Rodas Johnson forced the ball from Pyne’s hand on the first play and Jack Sanborn recovered to give the Badgers excellent field position.

With basically the equivalent of a big offensive play having just taken place, the Badgers made the most of the opportunity. By the end of the quarter, they had reached the Irish’s 10, though they were moved back to the 11 on a loss. Things are looking grim right now. Let’s hope that changes.

Wisconsin football: Is there an under-the-radar option to emerge as a starter at defensive end?

Wisconsin football entered the spring portion of the 2021 offseason with familiar faces all over the field. Graham Mertz returns at

Wisconsin football entered the spring portion of the 2021 offseason with familiar faces all over the field.

Graham Mertz returns at quarterback, both Leo Chenal and Jack Sanborn return at inside linebacker, Caesar Williams and Faion Hicks return at cornerback and more. In total, 15 of the 22 starters from 2020 returned including eight of the offense’s starting 11.

Related: 2021 Wisconsin football position preview: Running backs and fullbacks

But there is one position where both 2020 starters are gone, a position which has become a large focus of this offseason.

That position is defensive end.

With 2020 seniors Isaiahh Loudermilk and Garrett Rand graduated, Jim Leonhard and his defensive staff are now moving towards the 2021 season with two starters to replace at the position and not much experience to choose from.

Junior Matt Henningsen is the most experienced of the group with 25 games played in his career, though he only appeared in two games last season due to a season-ending biceps injury. After him, Isaiah Mullens has played in only four career games at the college level and Oregon transfer Isaac Townsend and redshirt freshman Cade McDonald haven’t played in any.

Defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej met with the media today and discussed the defensive end position, highlighting one guy that has impressed this spring, someone who has gone under most people’s radars thus far.

He is former three-star recruit Rodas Johnson, a player that has recorded just one tackle in his collegiate career.

Johnson came to the Wisconsin program in 2019 as a three-star defensive tackle out of Columbus, Ohio. Although his No. 432 ranking in the class and No. 32 at his position didn’t scream eventual impact starter, his coaches and peers had a long list of good things to say today about his play this spring.

My current prediction sees Matt Henningsen, Isaiah Mullens and Isaac Townsend leading the Badger defensive end rotation. But if an underclassman like Johnson can step into a role and potentially break out this season, the defensive line should be in for another really productive campaign.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

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Wisconsin football: Is there an under-the-radar option to emerge as a starter at defensive end?

Wisconsin football entered the spring portion of the 2021 offseason with familiar faces all over the field. Graham Mertz returns at

Wisconsin football entered the spring portion of the 2021 offseason with familiar faces all over the field.

Graham Mertz returns at quarterback, both Leo Chenal and Jack Sanborn return at inside linebacker, Caesar Williams and Faion Hicks return at cornerback and more. In total, 15 of the 22 starters from 2020 returned including eight of the offense’s starting 11.

Related: 2021 Wisconsin football position preview: Running backs and fullbacks

But there is one position where both 2020 starters are gone, a position which has become a large focus of this offseason.

That position is defensive end.

With 2020 seniors Isaiahh Loudermilk and Garrett Rand graduated, Jim Leonhard and his defensive staff are now moving towards the 2021 season with two starters to replace at the position and not much experience to choose from.

Junior Matt Henningsen is the most experienced of the group with 25 games played in his career, though he only appeared in two games last season due to a season-ending biceps injury. After him, Isaiah Mullens has played in only four career games at the college level and Oregon transfer Isaac Townsend and redshirt freshman Cade McDonald haven’t played in any.

Defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej met with the media today and discussed the defensive end position, highlighting one guy that has impressed this spring, someone who has gone under most people’s radars thus far.

He is former three-star recruit Rodas Johnson, a player that has recorded just one tackle in his collegiate career.

Johnson came to the Wisconsin program in 2019 as a three-star defensive tackle out of Columbus, Ohio. Although his No. 432 ranking in the class and No. 32 at his position didn’t scream eventual impact starter, his coaches and peers had a long list of good things to say today about his play this spring.

My current prediction sees Matt Henningsen, Isaiah Mullens and Isaac Townsend leading the Badger defensive end rotation. But if an underclassman like Johnson can step into a role and potentially break out this season, the defensive line should be in for another really productive campaign.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

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Wisconsin Football Season Review: Defensive Line

How did Wisconsin’s defensive line play over the 2019 season?

Wisconsin finished its fifth season under head coach Paul Chryst as Chryst improved his overall record to 52-16 and has a posted a 34-10 record in conference games. After not winning the Big Ten West Division title in 2018 the Badgers were back in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game as the West representative for the fourth time in the last six years since the Big Ten went to its current format.

In this Badgers Wire feature we will examine the play of Wisconsin’s defensive line from the 2019 season and take a sneak into what the 2020 season may have in store for the position:

If the tight end position was hit hard by injuries in 2019 that award goes to the defensive line in 2018.

Wisconsin’s projected starting defensive line was Isaiahh Loudermilk and Garrett Rand at defensive ends and Olive Sagapolu at nose tackle in 2018. But Rand missed the entire season with an injury, Loudermilk missed four games due to an injury, and Sagapolu missed Wisconsin’s last five games after sustaining an injury against Northwestern.

One player who was forced to step up because of the injuries a season ago was Matt Henningsen. Although the coaching staff wasn’t expecting much from him in 2018 prior to the injuries the experience he did gain as a redshirt freshman was invaluable.

Henningsen was able to make a noticeable leap in his play as he started to become more of a playmaker along the Badgers defensive line in 2019. Henningsen finished the season with 24 tackles and his five tackles for loss tied for the team lead among defensive lineman with Loudermilk and his four sacks were the most amongst defensive lineman. Henningsen also registered two defensive touchdowns too.

Loudermilk and Rand were the starters at defensive end as Loudermilk played in all 14 games but Rand did miss one game. Between Rand and Loudermilk they combined for 51 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and four sacks.

They helped set the edge for Wisconsin’s defense and their ability to take on opposing offensive lineman allowed for Wisconsin’s linebackers to consistently make plays an area that was missing at times in 2018.

It also helped that the Badgers received improved play at the nose tackle position. Bryson Williams like Henningsen improved from his freshman season but his season was cut short as he only appeared in six games.

Williams loss would have hurt Wisconsin’s defensive line a lot but due to the play of true freshman Keeanu Benton, the play by Wisconsin’s defensive line didn’t miss a beat.

Benton consistently improved throughout his freshman season as he was able to utilize his wrestling background to help him gain better leverage in the trenches. Benton finished the season with 12 tackles and had four tackles for loss and two sacks.

2020 Wisconsin Defensive Line

With everybody returning along Wisconsin’s defensive line with the exception of David Pfaff the Badgers should once again be strong in the trenches. The starters at defensive end should continue to be Loudermilk and Rand and the Badgers will have two capable nose tackles in Williams and Benton. Benton certainly had an impact as a true freshman and with him going through spring football for the first time should allow for him to only grow as he heads into his sophomore season. It will also be an important spring for redshirt freshman Gio Paez and Rodas Johnson in their development, in addition to Isaiah Mullens too. Wisconsin’s ability to continue to build solid and reliable depth along the defensive line will be critical for not only 2020 but in the future too and that will begin in the spring.