Wisconsin class of 2025 defensive tackle commit Drayden Pavey was named Ohio D4 Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday.
Pavey, who pledged his commitment to UW on Oct. 22, earned the nod after a dominant senior season with Taft High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. The class of 2025 prospect registered 87 total tackles, 52 solo tackles 11.5 sacks, 24 tackles for loss and one fumble recovery in 11 games during his final high school season.
The 6-foot-3, 305-pound recruit flipped to the Badgers roughly three months after initially committing to Purdue. He became Wisconsin’s 24th commitment of its 2025 cohort, a bunch that On3 currently considers the eighth-best in the Big Ten.
Job not finished! Definitely couldn’t have achieved this without my coaches and teammates. @TaftNationFB @TaftNation @CoachTy_1 @tsfootball @CoachFick @PatLambert13 @CoachWhit_UW @BadgerFootball pic.twitter.com/EshBd5GpJN
— Drayden “Big Pav” Pavey (@dpavey_) November 14, 2024
247Sports currently ranks the three-star defensive tackle as the No. 737 overall player in the class of 2024, the No. 85 player at his position and the No. 29 recruit from his home state of Ohio. Pavey is the fourth defensive linemen in Wisconsin’s class of 2025 alongside three-stars Torin Pettaway, Wilnerson Telemaque and Xavier Ukponu.
Pavey’s spectacular output at Taft should certainly encourage Badger fans. Given the program’s struggle to secure defensive line commitments early in the 2025 recruiting window, Pavey looks like he’s the real deal.