The Wisconsin Badger football team has hired former Badger standout Jim Leonhard as the teams new Defensive Coordinator, replacing Justin Wilcox, who took the head coaching job at California after just one season in Madison.
Leonhard served as Wisconsin’s defensive backs coach last season and his impact on the Badgers’ secondary was immediate. His unit was instrumental in the Badgers collecting 22 interceptions, a total that ranked second in the FBS. It marked Wisconsin’s highest output since 2002, when Leonhard himself recorded a school-record 11 of UW’s 22 picks.
The secondary contributed to an overall effort that saw the Badgers finish the season ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense (15.6 ppg), seventh in total defense (301.4 yards per game), third in rushing defense (98.8 yards per game) and tenth in passing efficiency defense (106.9). [Read more…]