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Former Wisconsin Badgers secret weapon joins coaching staff of Minnesota Gophers

One of the secret weapons to the Wisconsin Badgers defensive success under Paul Chryst is now taking his talents to the rival Minnesota Gophers.
Lorin Cox|
Former Wisconsin Badgers outside linebackers coach Bobby April III is joining the Minnesota Gophers coaching staff
Former Wisconsin Badgers outside linebackers coach Bobby April III is joining the Minnesota Gophers coaching staff | Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

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Outside linebackers coach Bobby April III was a big part of helping the Wisconsin Badgers become a pass rusher factory for the NFL.

Now, he'll try to recreate that same success for the rival Minnesota Gophers.

The former Badgers assistant is joining P.J. Fleck's staff in Minneapolis after spending the last three seasons as defensive coordinator at Stanford.

April was on the Badgers' staff from 2017 to 2022, adding the title of run game coordinator for three of those seasons.

Over that span, he developed three Wisconsin edge rushers into NFL draft picks.

First it was JUCO transfer Andrew Van Ginkel, who was a fifth-round pick by the Miami Dolphins who went onto be a Pro Bowl player for the Minnesota Vikings.

Then it was Philadelphia Eagles breakout star linebacker Zack Baun, who had 12.5 sacks during his final year at Wisconsin.

Related: Former Wisconsin OL coach reunites with ex-Badgers defensive coordinator on new team

After him, it was Nick Herbig, a fourth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023.

During his last year with the Badgers, he led the Big Ten with 11 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss.

April also recruited this year's late-season, breakout pass rusher for Wisconsin, Darryl Peterson, who is also heading to the NFL Draft.

Now his eye for the position will be supporting the Badgers' most hated rival.

Luke Fickell better hope Fleck isn't able to recruit the type of talent April got to work with at Wisconsin or else he's going to make life a lot more difficult for the rest of the Big Ten.

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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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