Preston pops for Wisconsin
Wisconsin received its 14th commitment in the 2016 class Monday when Keldric Preston announced his pledge to the Badgers.
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The 6-foot-4, 241-pound senior from Tampa (FL) Robinson made his decision public on Bright House Sports in Florida.
Robinson DE Keldric Preston announced his commitment at @BHSN studio. He picked @UWBadgers: http://t.co/vC5vKGoRSx pic.twitter.com/d7S5pvSuw8- Bright House Sports (@BHSN) July 20, 2015
"The school I'm going to spend the next four or five years at is Wisconsin," Preston said. "When I went there, the coaching staff really showed me how much they wanted me. We clicked immediately and I love the position they have me playing. Madison is a great town and it's everything you would want in a college experience."
Preston joins Tyler Biadasz and Luke Benzschawel as projected defensive linemen in the Badgers' current class. He was recruited by defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, who hosted the three-star prospect for much of his unofficial visit last month.
"Wisconsin is getting a hard-working player who is going to do the right thing on and off the field," Preston's head coach at Robinson, Shawn Taylor, said. "They're going to put him in a position to succeed. I know they're going to get a kid that is going to do some good things for them. He's going to embrace Madison and I know Madison is going to embrace him."
Preston, who had 40 tackles, five sacks and two fumbles as a junior, chose UW over offers from Miami, Mississippi State, Boston College, Louisville, Penn State, Pittsburgh, South Florida and USF, among others. Taylor says those numbers were a bit down because Preston played both ways as a junior.
"He's brings a lot to the team," Taylor said. "One thing people don't know about Keldric is that he also plays left tackle for us. A lot of three-star recruits and kids of his caliber wouldn't play both ways -- he plays both ways the entire game. Those sack numbers are going to come up this year; they were probably down last year because I made him do a lot of more than a lot of coaches would ask from their guys."
Taylor said he's watched Preston transform his body and mature as a student under his watch.
"When we first got him as a freshman he was a big boy, a little bit chubbier," Taylor said. "But he had gigantic feet and hands, and we knew he'd be something. Now he's turned into a young man who has become quite the worker.
"Keldric is very loyal. We brought his dad on as a coach; any time we had any problems we'd just sit him down with his dad. It's easy to stay loyal when dad's on the field all the time. But he's worked hard and done what he's needed to get done in the classroom with his grades and test scores. It's nice that I don't have to worry about him making a bad decision when we're not together, he's going to do what's right all the time."