Minnesota linebacker Kaden Johnson signs with Badgers, plus a look at the rest of the 2020 UW recruits on signing day

Jeff Potrykus | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON – A degree in math isn’t required to discern which positions Wisconsin football coach Paul Chryst and his assistants targeted for the 2020 class.

Of the 19 players UW signed Wednesday, six were linebackers and five were offensive linemen. Three of the linebackers are set to begin working on the outside and three are set to begin on the inside.

All five linemen and five of the six linebackers had committed before Wednesday. The late addition was outside linebacker Kaden Johnson of Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis.

“We love Kaden and his athleticism,” UW defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said. “He does a lot of things on the football field. Great attitude. We love what he brings to the table from a physicality standpoint.”

Johnson, the No. 1 recruit in Minnesota, held scholarship offers from LSU, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Purdue, California, Oregon State, Tennessee, Virginia and Vanderbilt.

Leonhard acknowledged UW’s reputation for sending outside linebackers to the NFL helped in landing Johnson, Nick Herbig of Hawaii and Aaron Witt of Winona, Minnesota.

“You use what you got,” he said. “We’ve had a lot off success defensively and obviously dynamic play-makers at the outside linebacker position.

“So it is something where we feel like we can go in and compete with any school just because of what we provide that group and how dynamic they are on our defense.”

Four of the five offensive linemen are from Wisconsin.

“You go into each year and you want to get a certain amount,” Chryst said. “But we felt like it was a really good year in-state.

“I like the group a lot. You can go all over the country … (but) we feel we had some really good ones here at home.”

The quintet is headlined by tackles Trey Wedig of Kettle Moraine High School and Jack Nelson of Stoughton High School, the No. 1 and No. 2 prospects in the state, respectively.

"I think all of them have the attributes that you love to find," offensive coordinator/line coach Joe Rudolph said of the five linemen. "They are really big and they’re really athletic.

"They are great athletes for their size. Really smart kids. Incredible work ethic. I think they are guys who want to develop, know how to get better and will do those things."

The rest of the class, by position: wide receivers, three; tight ends, two; defensive ends, two; cornerback, one.

The wide receivers include Chimere Dike of Waukesha North. He is listed as an “athlete” by UW because he could also play in the secondary but Rudolph noted he will start out on offense.

UW has not ruled out adding at least one more player, likely a tailback, but the staff won’t waste a scholarship just to plug a possible hole.

"We’re pumped about this group," Chryst said, "in-state and out-of-state kids."

Here is a look at the signees:

Dylan Barrett, OL, 6-6 and 296, St. Charles, Illinois: Barrett was a three-time, All-DuKane Conference pick. He was the league’s lineman of the year and a first-team, all-state pick as a senior.

Ben Barten, OL, 6-6 and 275, Stratford: The Tim Krumrie Award winner as the state's top senior defensive lineman in 2019, Barten was an all-state pick by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association on offense and defense as a senior. He was the 2019 Wisconsin Small School Defensive Player of the Year (WFCA) and led Stratford to 12 shutout victories as a senior.

According to Rudolph, Barten camped twice at UW and worked on the offensive line in one camp and on the defensive line in the other.

"You love that about him," Rudolph said.

Tanor Bortolini, OL, 6-5 and 250, Kewaunee: As a senior Bortolini was a first-team offensive lineman and honorable mention pick on defense according to the WFCA. He also was the Packerland Conference defensive player of the year.

Devin Chandler, WR, 6-1 and 175, Huntersville, North Carolina: Chandler chose UW over offers from Maryland, Virginia, Duke, North Carolina State and Illinois.

Chimere Dike, ATH, 6-0 and 175, Waukesha North: Dike won the Al Toon Award given to the top wide receiver in the state. He was a two-time all-state wide receiver.

Cole Dakovich, TE, 6-5 and 225, Catholic Memorial: He led the Crusaders to WIAA state titles in his junior and senior seasons. Dakovich was a first-team, all-state pick according to the WFCA as a senior. He also competed in basketball and track and field.

"I think he fits that position extremely well," Rudolph said. "A big, physical guy who can make plays."

Nick Herbig, OLB, 6-2 and 215, Honolulu: Named the All–Hawaii Open Division Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. Helped led Saint Louis School to fourth consecutive Open Division state championship.

Kaden Johnson, OLB, 6-4 and 220, St. Paul, Minnesota: Johnson is considered the No. 1 recruit in Minnesota and one of the better outside linebackers in the nation. He was a first-team, All-Metro pick according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune and helped Minnehaha Academy to back-to-back Class 2A state basketball titles.

"Got in on Kaden Johnson early so we really got to know him," Chryst said. "I love the makeup of who he is. We think he is a heck of a football player. I went and watched him play basketball. They’ve got a heck of a team and he started for a while."

Cam Large, TE, 6-4 and 240, Dedham, Massachusssets: The No. 6 player in Massachusetts was a two-time, first-team All-New England pick and a three-time, All-Independent School League pick.

Max Lofy, DB, 5-11 and 165, Colorado Spring, Colorado: Lofy led Pine Creek to the Colorado Class 4A state title as a senior. He also competes in baseball and track and field.

"He can run," Leonhard said. "He’s got great length. He is a champion at the high school level and you can never get enough of those kids in your program."

Cade McDonald, DE, 6-6 and 250, Hudson: McDonald was a WFCA all-state pick.

Jack Nelson, OL, 6-7 and 275, Stoughton: One of two UW linemen selected to play in the Army All-American Bowl in January in San Antonio. Nelson is the No. 2-ranked prospect in the state for the 2020 class. He won the Joe Thomas Award given annually to the state’s top offensive lineman.

Malik Reed, ILB, 6-2 and 220, Chandler, Arizona: A first-team, all-state pick as a senior, Reed had offers from Arizona, Nebraska, Colorado, UCLA and Oregon State.

"Malik is extremely powerful," Leonhard said. "He is not going to have a huge adjustment coming to Wisconsin. He understands football. He is locked in every play."

Isaac Smith, WR, 6-3 and 180, Collierville, Tennessee: Smith was first-team all-region and all-district as a junior.

James Thompson, DE, 6-4 and 251, Cincinnati: Thompson played on both lines as a senior and was a third-team All-Ohio pick.

Jordan Turner, ILB, 6-3 and 220, Farmington, Michigan: Turner was a second-team, all-state pick by The Associated Press.

"Jordan Turner is a dynamic player," Leonhard said. "A great leader on his team. Makes plays all over the field."

Trey Wedig, OL, 6-7 and 301, Kettle Moraine: Wedig is the No. 1-ranked player in the state and the No. 9-ranked offensive tackle in the nation. Like Nelson of Stoughton, Wedig was invited to play in the Army All-American Bowl.

Aaron Witt, DE, 6-5 and 220, Winona, Minn.: Witt, who committed to Minnesota and Iowa during the recruiting process, got the offer he coveted from UW. He is a finalist for Minnesota’s Mr. Football.

"Aaron Witt is a guy who can do so many things," Leonhard said. "He is just scratching the surface."

Preston Zachman, ILB, 6-2 and 198, Catawissa, Pennsylvania: Zachman led Southern Columbia to 16-0 record and 888-82 scoring margin as a senior. He played on three state championship teams, finishing with a record of 63–1.