11/26/2020 football Edit

Wisconsin connects with in-state junior DB Deven Magli

Jon McNamara • BadgerBlitz

Editor

Jon McNamara is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has covered UW athletics since 2002 and has worked at Rivals.com since 2006.

As a sophomore, Deven Magli led the state of Wisconsin in interceptions with 10, four of which he returned for a touchdown.

This fall, the junior from DeForest High School turned heads at the WFCA Combine with a 4.56-second 40-yard dash, 36-inch vertical jump and 4.26-second shuttle run. Those numbers caught the attention of Badgers' in-state recruiter Chris Haering, who connected with Magli on Tuesday evening.

Deven Magli led the state of Wisconsin in interceptions with 10 in 2019.

"The feedback from Wisconsin has been great," Magli told BadgerBlitz.com. "They like my combine numbers and are impressed by my film. They would love to meet me and they also gave me things I need to improve in my game so I can become the best player I can be and to help me be successful at the next level.

"So far so good with Coach Haering. Last night was my first call with Coach Haering and it seems to me that it’ll only get better from here."

Magli, 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, grew up following the Badgers. Miami of Ohio and South Dakota are also involved in his recruitment early in the process.

"Oh yeah, 100 percent. Wisconsin has always been a school and a program that I admired and loved to watch ever since I knew what football was," Magli said. "I think the next steps with Wisconsin would just be simply building a relationship with the coaching staff and continuing to talk to them. Letting them get to know me better until I can show them what I can do on the field in the spring and I can go and meet them in person.

"South Dakota's coaching staff said they loved my film and they would love to build a relationship with me. They hope to get me out for a visit as soon as the deadline is over. And the coaches from Miami of Ohio were also impressed by my film and would like to get to know me better as an athlete and a person."

In 2019, Magli was a big part of DeForest's Division 3 state title team. The Norskies will be back on the field this spring.

"It was hard on not only me but my entire team," Magli said about not competing this fall. "We were all looking forward to another great season only to be pushed back six months. The hardest part was watching teams all over the state play while all we could do was work and get better for the spring."

In the 2022 in-state class, Wisconsin has already offered Carson Hinzman, Billy Schrauth, Joe Brunner, Jerry Cross (committed to Penn State) and Isaac Hamm.