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2019 DL Gio Paez
| Position | Height | Weight | School | 247Sports Composite Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Height | Weight | School | 247Sports Composite Ranking |
| DL | 6'3 | 305 | William Amos Hough (Cornelius, N.C.) | Three-star; No. 59 DT |
Gio Paez joins the Wisconsin Badgers roster out of William Amos Hough High School in North Carolina as a three-star defensive tackle. Paez is a large man with quick feet and that will serve him well in any of the three positions on the Badgers defensive line, though he may have to gain some weight before slotting in at nose tackle.
Over seven games in his senior season, Paez had 27 tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery, while in his junior season he produced 53 tackles, nine sacks and two safeties. At a position that faced depth challenges this year, the defensive line will most likely be looking for one or two immediate contributors and Paez could fill that roll easily.
Rankings
247Sports (composite): Three stars; Grade: .08581; No. 884 player. No. 59 DT; No. 41 NC
247Sports: Three stars; Grade: 86; No. 909 player; No. 57 DT; No. 40 NC
ESPN: Three stars; Grade: 79; No. 36 DT; No. 251 Regional; No. 22 NC
Rivals: Three stars; 5.5 rating; No. 43 NC
Verbally committed on June 17, 2018
Paez committed to Wisconsin the Sunday of his official visit to Madison, because there are few places better in the country then the Memorial Union Terrace on a summer Saturday. According to Evan Flood ($) the Oregon Ducks checked in with Paez during his senior season but couldn’t get him to come out to Eugene for an official visit. The youngster from North Carolina joins a class with two other large, adult sons at defensive tackle: Rodas Johnson and Keeanu Benton.
Official Visit in Madison ✅ pic.twitter.com/uFkcaD3d4L
— Gio Paez (@Gio_paez7117) June 17, 2018
According to 247Sports, Paez also held offers from defending national champ UCF, Texas A&M, Louisville, Nebraska, N.C. State, Kentucky and a whole host of lower tier southeastern FBS schools.
Video highlights
Gio Paez
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) December 19, 2018
Defensive Line
Cornelius, NC
@Gio_paez7117
Check out the film on Gio#NSD19 // #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/4ZbRJkDPek
Bio (courtesy of UWBadgers.com)
High School: Three-star recruit by 247 Sports, ESPN and Rivals … first-team All-I-Meck Conference as senior … team’s defensive line MVP as a junior … two-year team captain … also lettered in basketball, playing varsity as a freshman at Cathedral High School in Los Angeles … coach was Matt Jenkins
Personal: Parents are Yvette DeAngelis and Ron Morton Jr.