2020 LB Nick Herbig signs with Wisconsin

Saint Louis School prospect Nick Herbig might be the best player in the Wisconsin Badgers class of 2020. He was recently named the best defensive player in the state of Hawaii, a state that is known for producing some solid defensive players.

At Wisconsin, which has been an NFL OLB factory of late, Herbig has the chance to be the next man up in the Badgers tradition of pass rushers. He has a frame that can handle some time in a college strength program without sacrificing too much of his speed and seems to have the football IQ to be a leader of the defense for a couple of years.

Our very own Owen Riese looked at his Hudl film back in June and said “he can #bend as a pass rusher, which is extremely intriguing and he has experience in coverage underneath zones, which he’ll be asked to do at UW.” Owen went on to add, “he played against a lot of spread teams in Hawaii so I’m curious how he’ll hold up as a run defender.”

Make no mistake, this was a big get for the Badgers and it will be exciting to see how Herbig’s career progresses in Madison.

Rankings

247 Composite: 4 stars; grade: .9237; No. 187 player in the nation; No. 16 OLB; No. 2 HI

247 Sports: 4 stars; grade: 94; No. 104 player in the nation; No. 8 OLB; No. 2 HI

Rivals: 4 stars; 5.8 rating; No. 18 OLB; No. 2 HI

ESPN: 4 stars; Grade: 81; No. 25 OLB; No. 36 Regional; No. 2 HI

Verbally committed on June 10th, 2019

Herbig was a hot commodity on the recruiting trail and one the Badgers had to work hard to secure a commitment from. First of all, his brother went to Stanford so they had a leg up in early recruitment. Second of all, he’s from Hawaii which, if you aren’t good at geography, isn’t very close to Wisconsin. Third of all, he had some pretty big name schools offering him besides the Badgers.

Oklahoma, Washington, Southern Cal, Stanford, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah, Cal, UCLA all had offers out to Herbig. Not to mention home state Hawaii and other impressive academic schools like Vanderbilt and Virginia. It was a crowded field is what we’re trying to say.

Herbig always seemed set on the Badgers though. After he visited Madison officially over last summer, he shut down his recruitment and didn’t even take any more visits. Herbig was the ninth commit for the Badgers in the 2020 class and I think his commitment really solidified the fact that the Badgers were going to be players in this cycle.

Video highlights

Player bio (courtesy of UW Athletic Department)