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Wisconsin Badgers pursuing freak athlete pass rusher from D-III in transfer portal

The Wisconsin Badgers offered a scholarship to a Division-III pass rusher with 15 sacks who is also an All-American sprinter in track and field.
Lorin Cox|
Hope College pass rusher Liam Danitz (0) received a scholarship offer from the Wisconsin Badgers in the the transfer portal.
Hope College pass rusher Liam Danitz (0) received a scholarship offer from the Wisconsin Badgers in the the transfer portal. | Adam Vander Kooy/Holland Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers are looking for one more pass rusher to round out their rotation on the edge.

Luke Fickell and his staff have turned their attention to a Division-III player who is a freak athlete gaining a lot of attention from D-I programs.

This week they hosted Hope College edge rusher Liam Danitz for a visit and offered him a scholarship in the transfer portal.

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The leap from D-III to D-I is a large one, but Danitz was one of the most productive players in the country.

He finished this season with 15 sacks, 21 tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries, including five games with more than one sack.

What makes him so intriguing is his freak speed. He is also an All-American track and field runner at Hope College.

Danitz recorded a 10.55 in the 100-meter dash and 20.92 in the 200-meter, making him one of the fastest players on the field even as a defensive lineman.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers land transfer portal edge rusher who ranked Top 25 in 2025 recruiting class

You can't coach speed, and he has the proven production to go with it. The bigger challenge would be adding size and strength.

He's listed at 6-foot-5, 227 pounds. The Badgers like to have more bulk than that for their edge rushers, and some teams could see him as more of a hybrid linebacker that excels at rushing the quarterback.

That's more in line with how Fickell used Aaron Witt this past season, but he has 20 pounds on Danitz.

Wisconsin is facing plenty of competition for his services. He is set to visit Ole Miss on Friday, and he has already received offers from programs including James Madison, UCLA, West Virginia, Utah and California.

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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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