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Former Wisconsin Badgers defensive lineman and coach joins coaching staff of rival Big Ten team

A Wisconsin native who played and coached for the Badgers is crossing state lines to coach for their Big Ten rival.
Lorin Cox|
Former Wisconsin Badgers defensive tackle Ross Kolodziej (96) is joining the coaching staff at Northwestern.
Former Wisconsin Badgers defensive tackle Ross Kolodziej (96) is joining the coaching staff at Northwestern. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

A Wisconsin native who played and coached for the Badgers is crossing state lines to coach for their Big Ten rival.

Northwestern announced the hiring of Ross Kolodziej on Thursday to be their new defensive line coach.

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He spent the past three seasons in the same role for the Stanford Cardinals.

Kolodziej is a Stevens Point native who started 45 games for the Badgers in the late 1990s. His teams won two Big Ten championships and went to two Rose Bowls.

After a six-year career in the NFL, he got his first coaching opportunity as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin in 2012.

He would eventually take over as strength and conditioning coach in 2015 and held that role for six seasons before making the switch to defensive line coach under defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard for Paul Chryst's final two seasons.

Related: Former Wisconsin Badgers QB interviewing for offensive coordinator job with Mike McCarthy and Pittsburgh Steelers

As a position coach for the Badgers, Kolodziej helped develop Keeanu Benton and Matt Henningsen into NFL draft picks.

Now he's back in the Big Ten to coach for Wisconsin's closest geographical rival under head coach David Braun.

He'll be tasked with trying to replace the Wildcats' leading pass rusher Aidan Hubbard, who exhausted his eligibility and entered the NFL Draft.

Kolodziej won't face the Badgers on the schedule this season, but Northwestern is scheduled to come to Camp Randall Stadium in 2027.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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