Wisconsin Football FLIPS Dominant Dual-Sport Athlete From B1G Rival

Wisconsin football has added to its 2024 recruiting class with an unexpected commitment announcement. With the suspension and subsequent firing of Northwestern football head coach Pat Fitzgerald, Wildcat recruits are on decommitment watch. One recruit skipped the decommitment step and rushed to announce his commitment to the Badgers.

Heading North! @HilltoppersFB @JCAwrestling @rudysgymjoliet @BadgerWrestling @WisFBRecruiting pic.twitter.com/cUuM8Hmtay

— Dillan M Johnson (@DillanMJohnson1) July 12, 2023

Wisconsin Football Flips Dillan Johnson From Northwestern in Wake of Pat Fitzgerald Firing

Dillan Johnson announced his commitment to both Wisconsin football and the Badgers wrestling program. He is the third player to decommit from Northwestern fired Fitzgerald. He had previously committed to play football and wrestle at NU.

UW appeared to be the runner-up behind NU for the Joliet, Illinois native’s services after his initial commitment on May 15th. On April 6th, Wisconsin Insider for 247Sports Evan Flood entered a Crystal Ball prediction for Johnson to commit to the Badgers. 

The defensive tackle brings an awesome athletic pedigree to a defensive front that Wisconsin football has struggled to recruit in its 2024 class. The three-star prospect’s Twitter bio touts his 700-pound squat, 424-pound bench press, and 610-pound deadlift personal bests.

Perhaps most impressive, and something Wisconsin football head coach Luke Fickell surely desired, is the dual sport athlete’s dominant wrestling ability. Johnson’s hometown newspaper even said, “The word ‘dominant’ isn’t quite enough.” The heavyweight has captured two straight undefeated seasons and three individual state championships. A top-ten wrestling recruit, according to FloWrestling, none of his opponents have recorded a takedown against him in that stretch.

The Joliet Catholic Academy standout is the 20th-ranked player from Illinois according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He is ranked 95th among defensive linemen and 948th overall nationally. 

Ahead of Johnson’s junior season, JCA’s head football coach said, “Johnson is so quick and uses his wrestling background so well that he is almost unblockable.”

Wisconsin Football Recruiting: State of tren the 2024 Class

Wisconsin football now has 19 commitments in its 2024 recruiting class. According to 247Sports, the class ranks 17th nationally. It ranks sixth in the Big Ten, trailing Ohio State, Michigan, USC, Penn State, and Nebraska.

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