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Wisconsin Badgers are pursuing transfer portal safety with freakish track speed

The Wisconsin Badgers have been in contact with a safety in the transfer portal who is all an All-American track runner in the 100-meter dash.
Lorin Cox|
Slippery Rock safety Kanye Thompson (3) is drawing interest from the Wisconsin Badgers in the transfer portal.
Slippery Rock safety Kanye Thompson (3) is drawing interest from the Wisconsin Badgers in the transfer portal. | Andy Mason/Herald-Mail / USA TODAY NETWORK

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The Wisconsin Badgers are interested in adding some major speed to their secondary.

As Luke Fickell and his staff scour the transfer portal, they identified a target at safety who happens to also be an All-American track runner.

Rivals national recruiting reporter Hayes Fawcett reported that Wisconsin is one of the schools that has been in contact with Slippery Rock safety Kanye Thompson since he entered the portal.

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This season, the redshirt junior recorded 10 pass breakups with 5.5 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and three sacks at the Division-II level.

Thompson was first-team all-conference in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and also a second-team All-American in track and field.

His event is the 100-meter dash, where he ran a 10.14 during the prelims for the NCAA Championships.

For comparison, Usain Bolt's world record in the 100-meter dash is 9.58 seconds.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers defense has underrated problem Luke Fickell must address in transfer portal

Thompson's speed would certainly translate to the Big Ten level at Wisconsin. The bigger question is his size.

He has enough length, listed at six-feet tall. But his listed weight is only 168 pounds.

It's likely he keeps that number low to maximize his performance in track and field, but if he came to the Badgers, he might have to focus more fully on football and bulk up in the process.

Wisconsin has a need at safety with seniors Austin Brown and Owen Arnett graduating. Preston Zachman's status is still unclear, as he could quality for a medical hardship waiver and get another year of eligibility.

This defense struggled at times with speedy receivers beating them deep. A defensive back like Thompson could be a great counter to run with some of the high flyers in 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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