After only one year as a college football assistant coach, former walk-on, captain and All-American Jim Leonhard will take over his alma mater’s defense.
Wisconsin and head coach Paul Chryst officially named Leonhard as its defensive coordinator on Thursday, replacing Justin Wilcox who left Madison to become head coach at Cal.
The 34-year old Leonhard returned to Madison last season as the secondary coach after a 10-year career in the NFL, and the move by Chryst immediately paid dividends. The defensive backs, once thought a huge question mark heading into the 2016 season with three starters departing from the year prior, played extremely well and contributed to 16 of the team’s 22 interceptions.