Wisconsin Badgers land commitment from top defensive lineman in transfer portal

While the Wisconsin Badgers have had some ups and downs with high school recruiting in recent weeks, Luke Fickell's staff got a nice win in the transfer portal Saturday morning.

They landed the No. 1 defensive lineman in the transfer portal, as rated by both On3 and 247 Sports.

Jibriel Conde from Grand Valley State committed to Wisconsin, 10 days after announcing his intention to enter the portal.

BREAKING: Grand Valley State transfer DL Jibriel Conde has Committed to Wisconsin, @On3sports has learned

The 6’5 280 DL totaled 30 Tackles, 2.5 Sacks, & 6.5 TFL this season

He’s ranked as the No. 1 DL in the Portal (per On3)https://t.co/RlUbB6EMhS pic.twitter.com/wh2PWJnbQ2
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) November 29, 2025

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Listed at 6-foot-5, 280 pounds, the defensive tackle racked up 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks this season at the Division-II level.

He was rated as the seventh-best player available in the portal right now by 247 Sports, and he took a visit to Madison for their win over Illinois.

Conde was expected to choose the Badgers due to a number of strong connections between Wisconsin and Grand Valley State.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers are considered favorites to flip 4-star LB who just de-committed from Louisville

Thank you to GVSU coaches for everything you have done for me and for helping me grow. With that said, I will be entering my name into the transfer portal. I still have two years of eligibility remaining. @kylelogan2221 pic.twitter.com/xhQHkmzIdD
— Jibriel Conde (@Jibriel_conde) November 19, 2025

He was teammates for one year with Wisconsin defensive tackle Jay'Viar Suggs, and cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean also played at GVSU prior to Conde's arrival.

Badgers OLB coach and special teams coordinator Matt Mitchell was the head coach at Grand Valley State for 13 years before joining Fickell's staff, though he didn't cross over with Conde there either.

Wisconsin may want the current redshirt sophomore to add some bulk this offseason to play in Madison, as the coaching staff has pushed for its defensive linemen to be over the 300-pound mark to hold up better up front.

The Badgers are set to graduate as many as four rotational defensive linemen this year, so Conde will have the opportunity to compete for playing time right away to fill the voide.

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