Baby Badgers: DT Darius Lathum Commits to Wisconsin
We've already told you to enjoy your 4th of July and if you're a Badger fan you've got a huge reason to celebrate with the news that four star defensive tackle Darius Latham committed to Wisconsin for the class of 2013. His commitment makes it eleven already for Wisconsin and the class is nearly full at this point.
I'm officially a Wisconsin Badger
— Big Business (@BigBusiness_25) July 4, 2012
It's been a heck of summer on the recruiting front for the Badgers and they may have just landed the top of their class in Latham. Either way the defensive side of the ball is where the top of the talent pool of the 2013 class lands with DT Latham and previously committed DE Chikwe Obasih ranking at the top of the commitment list so far.
Latham held offers from all over, including the likes of Florida, Arkansas, Auburn, Iowa, Michigan State and Indiana. There were many more on the radar, but those were thought to be the top of the list for his services starting in 2013.
ESPN and BadgerNation both think highly of him and see him being a front-runner for playing time out of the gate.
Latham's commit was a great surprise to all of those in the know as he had been taking his time and previously stated he didn't plan on making a decision anytime soon. That all changed with his visit to Wisconsin in June and the way the depth chart looks. No doubt about it, he'll be a key part of the future Badger defensive lines.
MORE AFTER THE JUMP....
Darius Latham Profile/Rankings:
Position: Defensive Tackle
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 285lbs
Hometown/High School: Indianapolis, IN/North Central High School
Rankings:
- 247sports: 4* (95 rating), Top247 #70, #9 OT (will play DT though), #2 state of IN
- ESPNRN: 4* (82 grade), ESPN300 #272, #22 DT, #30 regional, #3 state of IN
- Rivals: 4* (5.8 out of 6.1), NR nationally, #14 DT, #6 state of IN
- Scout: 4*, #22 DT
Thoughts & Video:
Getting Latham was always thought to be a bit of a longer shot with all the interest from SEC schools along with the home state Hoosiers in the mix, but he's an athletic big man and a potential game changer up front for Wisconsin. Visions of Latham and Obasih running things on the line have to be dancing through any Badger fans minds. They could well be the building blocks to the next great Badger D-Line and it's already a pretty good unit to begin with.
Eddie Faulkner was key in his recruitment and apparently Darius even interrupted Head Coach Bret Bielema on his honeymoon in Hawaii to give him the good news in person.
What should really have Badger fans stoked is the fact that according to Badger Nation Latham plans on enrolling in January at Wisconsin, so it's not as if he's likely to be one of those crazy flips like we saw last year.
On the field his ability is not in question. He plays Offensive Tackle along with both the DE and DT positions on the North Central team in high school, so that should give you an already good glimpse of just how athletic this player is. In fact words don't do his play justice, so enjoy the video below and you'll find out on your own why we here at MTB are so excited to have him in the fold. Simply put, this guy's a beast!
