How roommates John Pius, Leon Lowery can ignite Wisconsin's pass-rush
MADISON — John Pius stood at the podium, surrounded by reporters. He'd earned the attention — after logging nine sacks last season at William & Mary, becoming an FCS All-American, Wisconsin brought him in via the transfer portal to shore up its pass-rushing needs.
Initially, Pius was quiet. Whether unaccustomed to the bevy of media that covers Big Ten programs or simply not in his most talkative mood, he remained hushed and serious.
That is, he was until his roommate Leon Lowery walked by and said, in the intonation of a starstruck fangirl, "Oh my god, is that John Pius???"
Pius cracked a smile, laughed and lost his composure. It was emblematic of the bond the two outside linebackers have formed, one that dates back to December of 2023.
Wisconsin had a lot of questions at outside linebacker following Luke Fickell's debut season in Madison. Not only did the position underperform in 2023, but there was a myriad of departures that posed further questions about the unit. Kaden Johnson, a former 4-star, Rivals150 player transferred to Nevada. Jordan Mayer transferred to Penn State. CJ Goetz, the room's most productive player, was out of eligibility.
Therefore, it was unsurprising when the Badgers heavily pursued pass-rushers in the winter portal window. And within four days, they landed two of them: Lowery on Dec. 7, Pius on Dec. 11. The pair was quickly ushered to Madison to begin enculturation into Wisconsin's program.
“We first came in about the same time, December when we both committed. Moved in probably like a week after we committed here," Pius said.
The Badgers, meanwhile, were in the midst of prepping for LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Not to squander any time that could be spent with their new team, Pius and Lowery were part of that preparation process.
"We were both going to the bowl practices, watching them practice. We also got to practice with them for a little bit," Pius continued.
Bowl season has devolved into one of the most lawless times in college football. The transfer portal is in full swing, which means that rosters are in flux and while graduating seniors bid farewell to the team, incoming transfers eagerly wait their turn, technically part of the team but not yet on the game-day roster. It was in this transitional period, though, that Pius and Lowery struck up a friendship.
"We got to know each other a little bit just by being roommates in the hotel. Then we started to realize, alright, let's room together. And it’s been a very close bond right now," Pius said.
As two transfers Wisconsin brought in at the same time at the same position, Pius and Lowery's friendship makes plenty of sense. But the two come from very different backgrounds in terms of experience at the college level.
Pius, a native of Arlington, Virginia, spent four years at William & Mary. He didn't see the field until his sophomore year, in which he logged just five tackles. But as an upperclassmen, Pius' game flourished: he logged nine sacks in consecutive seasons.
Clearly, Pius was ready to take his game to the next level of the sport. The talent he'd flashed was undeniable. And yet, it wasn't the easiest transition for the pass-rusher.
“It’s been a little, not as smooth as first but I started to ease into it more as school started. And just picking up what the standard is here, what everybody expects from me and my other teammates here as well. And that was the biggest thing, just understanding the culture," he said. "And you know, as soon as I started to pick it up, learning everybody else, what they’re doing, it started to become a more smooth transition.”
"Coming from another school, it was just, it may not have the same things that they were doing at that one school," Pius added.
Outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell, the former head coach at Division-II Grand Valley State, knows all about the differences when you make a jump up a level in football.
"When you deal with lower levels...there’s not quite as many resources," he said. "Division-II head coach, we’re making peanut butter and jelly’s for our guys...That’s not a knock on anything, it’s the nature of those things and not having those resources. I think John is benefiting from taking advantage of the resources of Wisconsin athletics and Wisconsin football.”
With the help of a Big Ten strength program, nutritionists and positional coach, Pius is rounding into the football player he always had the ability to become. Mitchell says the linebacker came to Madison at 222 pounds, and is up to 248.
“Shoutout coach Brady (Collins), our strength coach here. He’s definitely taken me and helped me put on this weight," Pius said. "Add speed without gaining any fat, still being able to move the same was my biggest thing. And I think I’ve done that, I’m playing well right now with this weight on."
Besides the lifestyle changes that come with jumping up a level in the sport, the big transition for Pius has been his role on defense. At William & Mary, he was asked almost exclusively to rush the quarterback. Outside backers in Mike Tressel's defense are required to be much more well-rounded.
“Here, they expect me to do a little more than I did at William & Mary. Dropping into coverage, going man-on-man on tight ends, doing more stunts and just being able to be comfortable in those types of roles is what they want me to do, and I think that’s been the biggest difference," Pius said.
"Probably the biggest thing for John is, at his previous institution, he was never asked to drop into coverage, he was never asked to do anything; it was basically line up on the ball, go vertical and that was it," Mitchell agreed. "I would also say that there’s a lot more complexity and diversity to our defensive schemes and our calls than he’s used to, and he’s picking things up. It's probably with John less about physical ability and more about experience.”
Pius has been arguably the defensive star of spring camp, challenged only by Lowery. With his refurbished frame, he brings a blend of speed and power that's been a handful for any Wisconsin tackle. No linemen has managed to shut him down; he's only been periodically slowed.
“It’s hard to really tell he was even at a lower level so far," fellow outside linebacker Darryl Peterson said. "He’s fast off the ball, he’s twitchy, he’s physical, fast, strong, he’s big. I feel like he’s getting the hang of things really fast.”
"He’s got arguably the best get-off of any of our outside linebackers right now," Mitchell said. "He’s very twitchy, very snappy. When he comes inside, whether it’s in the run game or pass-rush, he gets vertical in a hurry and creates a lot of disruption at the point of attack."
Lowery, meanwhile, already had a power conference pedigree. Unlike Pius, he held a handful of FBS offers and committed to Syracuse as a high schooler out of New Jersey. It wasn't until his senior season, however, that he began to produce — Lowery logged 46 total tackles and 3.5 sacks for the Orange in 2023.
“I was at a Power Five school already, so it wasn’t much of a big transition," Lowery said. "It was just trusting myself, telling myself I’ve been here before. Trusting my coaches, my teammates.”
That's not to say Wisconsin, particularly its strength and conditioning program, wasn't something new for Lowery.
“It was most definitely something different, because coach Brady does a really good job of making sure you push yourself and making sure you see your progress, like in my weight, my mass.”
At Syracuse, Lowery was moved around in the front seven and asked to play multiple positions for the Orange. Wisconsin wants him to focus singularly on outside linebacker.
“It makes it a lot easier so I don’t have to worry about a lot of things, like at my old school," he said. "I can focus on pass rushing, setting edges and being violent.”
"I think you see with him, he played three different positions at his previous institution at an FBS level. So coming in here, I think the learning curve and the gap wasn’t as big," Mitchell said. "Now we’ve got him playing one position, he’s really locked in his skillset at that one position. He’s really honed in on what he needs to do at that position. So consequently I think he’s been able to pick it up pretty quick."
Lowery, alongside Pius, has also been one of the brightest defensive stars in spring practice. He's essentially lived in the offensive backfield, putting relentless pressure on Badger quarterbacks and oftentimes making short work of offensive tackles Riley Mahlman and Jack Nelson.
“Leon’s off to a very fast start. It’s exciting, to be transparent," Mitchell said. "He’s been great; he’s very humble and bought into what we’re doing."
Less than halfway through the spring, Pius and Lowery look like fantastic answers to an extremely pressing question — how are the Badgers going to be able to pressure the quarterback?
“That’s no secret," Peterson said. "If you look at any article, anything, we have to get more pressure on the quarterback. I feel like with this group we’re gonna do that.”
When watching this Badgers defense practice, it's hard not to focus on the two speedy, violent rushers on the edge.
Both Pius and Lowery are fifth-year seniors. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this will be each player's last year of college ball. After spending four seasons at middling Syracuse, Lowery is hungry to win big.
"I see (Fickell's) drive; he wants to win. That’s something I have in me. I’m tired of settling, being mediocre," he said. "I just wanna win...I wanna bring this team a championship, I wanna take it as far as we can go.”
Pius says him and Lowery have a similar focus.
“We both got the same goals," he said. "Being able to contribute for this defense. Just strengthen them from last year and improve any weaknesses that they had."
In what figures to be both players' sendoff season, the history and lore of the position they play at Wisconsin isn't lost on them.
“First of all, the history," Lowery said of what drew him to Madison. "JJ Watt, TJ Watt, that’s something that you can’t pass on. One of the greatest pass-rushers."
“There’s a lot of great players that have come from the outside linebacker room in Madison, and I felt that was a strong connection I had here," Pius said. "I wanted to be one of those players that come out of here and become a staple in Wisconsin. That’s my biggest thing, is just being able to build off that legacy as much as I can.”
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