Jim Leonhard said during spring camp that using the transfer portal to address depth issues at safety would be a possibility.
Wisconsin found some immediate help on Friday when Kamo’i Latu, a transfer from Utah, announced his commitment to the Badgers. A 6-foot, 195-pound third-year player, Latu played at Saint Louis School in Hawaii with UW outside linebacker Nick Herbig.
With Scott Nelson and Collin Wilder, starters in 2021, working towards a professional career, John Torchio and Travian Blaylock saw reps with the first-team defense during camp. Blaylock, however, injured his right leg and his return to the team is unknown at this time. Preston Zachman also missed all 15 camp practices due to injury.
"I think that's (transfer portal) a possibility. That is a real possibility at this point that we may have to look at that direction," Leonhard told reporters in April. "Because it is. You're trying to balance out overall well being of the team and the defense. We know we have guys that can do it. Is that the right thing to do? That's going to be our conversations coming out of the spring. It's not going to be in this next class of high school kids. We have who we have. We talked about Austin. So it's a possibility. I think we're gonna have to look into and just decide if that's the right thing to do."
"I think we're hoping so (Blaylock coming back by the fall)," Leonhard added. "We don't quite know at this point so it's significant enough, we're trying to take care of him, but it's too early to tell what's going on in that situation."
Latu, who had 19 tackles and three pass breakups in 2021, is expected to compete with Blaylock (if healthy) and Hunter Wohler for a starting spot this fall. He has three years of eligibility remaining for the Badgers.
A three-star safety in the 2020 recruiting class, Latu chose Utah over offers from Colorado, Nebraska, Oregon State, USC, Virginia, Washington and Washington State, among others.
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