OL James Durand on Wisconsin: 'The absolute best culture that I’ve seen'
Bob Bostad's first recruiting win in his second stint as Wisconsin's offensive line coach is in.
Friday morning, James Durand, who was offered by the Badgers during an unofficial visit this spring, announced his commitment to UW.
"I absolutely love Coach Bostad," Durand told BadgerBlitz.com. "He works his kids hard, and my bond with him is so strong. I know that when you come into his room, you’re gonna work, and we liked that hard-working aspect.
"It doesn’t matter if it’s the spring or fall before your last game, you’re still going to work just as hard on that same day. I just love that mindset and between the two of us, that was our common ground."
A 6-foot-6, 285-pound junior from from Basha High School in Arizona, Durand committed to the Badgers over offers from Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa State, Oregon State and Utah, among others. He will take his official visit to Wisconsin during the first weekend in June.
"When I got there for the visit, just being around the practice and the team, you can see this culture that is undeniable," Durand said. "Of all the places that I’ve been, it’s the absolute best culture that I’ve seen.
"I whole-heartedly believe that there is no better place to be a football player, as well as a student athlete, than Wisconsin. You can absolutely feel that when you’re there, and you can feel the ‘get better’ mentality. That was a huge thing for me and it drew me in. Once I was on campus, I knew there was no other place that I wanted to be."
A three-star prospect, Durand likely projects as an interior offensive lineman for the Badgers. He excited to be part of arguably UW's most storied position group.
"I think I’ll probably be an interior offensive lineman," Durand said. "My brother (Jonathon Durand at Yale) plays center, so I wouldn’t be against that either. So I think I’ll be on the inside unless I grow a decent amount more. I’m thinking that they (Wisconsin) will probably take three or four linemen this year.
"I think it’s a special place to be and they build offensive linemen. They run an offensive that is helpful towards producing NFL offensive linemen. That’s down the road for me, but it did play into my decision. But more than anything, I fell in love with the program, the campus, the guys and the coaching staff. That had more to do with my decision."
In Wisconsin, Durand found a fit on the football field and in the classroom. He's currently a member of the agricultural club at his high school, a passion Durand will take with him to Madison.
"I found that fit at Wisconsin," Durand said. "They have a world-class agricultural program in any field I want to go into. Whether it be dairy or what I’m doing right now with crop production. I do want to do something in the agricultural department but I don’t know exactly what I want to do yet.
"It feels fantastic to have made my decision. Now that I know where I'm going I can focus everything into my training and not have to juggle the recruiting process with trying to get better. I’m relieved that I won’t have to spend nights on phone calls trying to figure out what programs have to offer."
Commit No. 2 in the 2023 recruiting class -along with linebacker Tyler Jansey - Durand plans to help recruit for the Badgers in Arizona.
"We haven’t talked about that too much, but there are some in-state guys like My’Keil Gardner," Durand said. "He’s an absolute dog and he’ll be there during my official visit that weekend. I will keep in his text messages and keep letting him know that he’s a guy that I want to play with."
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