Wisconsin Football: Kamo’i Latu wins Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week

Wisconsin football put together one of their best performances of the season this past weekend, and some new faces really stepped up to help the Badgers. One of those players was Safety Kamo’i Latu. Latu had 3 tackles and 2 interceptions on Saturday in a 42-7 win Saturday. In turn, the Big Ten named Latu the Big Ten defensive player of the week. Latu is the second player to have two interceptions against a Big Ten opponent this year and the first Badger to do so since Colin Wilder against Nebraska in 2021.

Latu transferred from Utah this spring and has been playing significant snaps at safety due to the injury of Hunter Wohler. Wohler has been out of the lineup since suffering an injury during the first week of the season and Latu has taken on a big role in his place. He’ll likely continue in that role for the next few weeks as Wohler works his way back. According to Jim Leonhard, Wohler has still not practiced but is doing more in rehab. Leonhard added that his timetable for return is closer to the bye week.

The Badgers have two pass-happy teams on the schedule before and after the bye week in Purdue (before) and Maryland (after). If Wisconsin could have a rotation of both Latu and Wohler along with John Torchio they’d be at full strength in the safety room for some key contests.