The coaching carousel in college football is in full swing. As head coaches move to new places, so do coordinators. The Wisconsin Badgers have seen many new coordinators come in with the hiring of Luke Fickell. However, it was reported today that one coach is leaving to take another position. OLB coach Bobby April III is reportedly leaving to become the defensive coordinator at Stanford.
SOURCE: Wisconsin OLB coach Bobby April III is expected to become the new defensive coordinator at Stanford. He spent the past five years with the Badgers after six yeas as an NFL assistant. Last year, he was a finalist for the Michigan DC job.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 21, 2022
Bobby April III Set To Become Defensive Coordinator At Stanford
April III spent most of the beginning of his career in the NFL. From 2011-12 he was a defensive quality control coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. He moved to the New York Jets for the next two years under head coach Rex Ryan. In 2015 he moved with Rex Ryan to the Buffalo Bills and served as the linebackers coach. He has been the Wisconsin OLB coach since 2018. In that time, he has coached many solid linebackers and was a great asset to the coaching staff.
Moving Out West
Bobby April III heads west to coach at Stanford. New head coach Troy Taylor, who was recently hired from Sacramento State, gets a great defensive coordinator. After David Shaw left the program, the Taylor hire was a little surprising. While he had success in the Big Sky Conference, many thought the Cardinal would go for a more established coach in FBS. They ended up hiring Taylor and now he gets the challenge of getting Stanford back into the national spotlight. With the experience that April III has, it is not surprising that he received this defensive coordinator job.
The Wisconsin Badgers are going to miss Bobby April III when he goes to Stanford. Good assistants are what make a coaching staff great. While Luke Fickell has already got a great coaching staff, he will have a big hole to fill at the OLB coach position.
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