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Wisconsin outside linebacker Nick Herbig declares for the NFL Draft

Wisconsin star linebacker Nick Herbig will skip the Guaranteed Rate Bowl and head to the NFL.

Matt Belz

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The Wisconsin Badgers will have a very different-looking defense when they walk onto the field against Oklahoma State in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

One day after nose tackle Keeanu Benton announced his decision to forego the bowl game and declare for the 2023 NFL Draft, another team captain made the same decision. 

Star outside linebacker Nick Herbig announced Saturday on social media that he has played his final game with the Badgers and will instead head to the NFL as well. 

Herbig shared a written message to teammates, coaches, and fans:

"Thank you for accepting a young kid from over 4,000 miles away in Kauai and making my family and I feel at home for the past three years. I appreciate Coach Chryst, Coach Leonhard, and Coach April for the opportunity to be a Badger and represent the red and white. You helped turn me into a man on and off the field. My teammates are truly brothers for life and it was an honor serving as a captain this season. Badger Nation, you are the best fans in the country! From Camp Randall to every game on the road, you supported our team and brought the energy. It has been a childhood dream of mine to play football at the highest level. After many discussions with my family and coaches, I have decided to declare for the 2023 NFL Draft."

A native of Hawaii, Herbig came to Wisconsin as a consensus four-star recruit in the 2020 recruiting class, choosing the Badgers over offers from Cal, Kansas State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA, USC, Utah, Vanderbilt, Virginia, and Washington. 

Herbig immediately demonstrated a maturity on and off the field which helped him become a starter as a true freshman in 2020. Since starting the home opener against Illinois, Herbig has emerged as one of the top edge rushers in the Big Ten and he was arguably the top player on Wisconsin's roster in 2023. 

The junior's statistically improved all three years in Madison, and this season he led the Big Ten with 11 sacks. That is in addition to 47 total tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. 

Based on his production this year, Herbig has consistently earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors, both from the conference and the Associate Press. Herbig also picked up second-team All-American at the national level from The Walter Camp Foundation. 

Overall, Herbig finishes his career in Madison starting 31 games, with 134 tackles, 36 tackles for loss, 21 sacks, and four forced fumbles. 

One of the top pass rushers in the past decade of Wisconsin football, Herbig is projected to be an early-round draft pick, and he could project to play outside in a 3-4 defense or inside within a standard 4-3 scheme. 

Herbig is the fifth Wisconsin player who has declared for the NFL Draft, and the second player with junior eligibility to do so. He joins senior defensive tackle Keeanu Benton, redshirt junior offensive lineman Joe Tippmann, and super-senior cornerbacks Jay Shaw and Justin Clark as an NFL Draft entrant. 

With Herbig not participating in the bowl game, expect Darryl Peterson to earn the starting nod opposite of C.J. Goetz, and underclassmen Kaden Johnson and T.J. Bollers to also see extended reps in practice. With the Badgers now replacing both outside linebackers in 2023, the next two weeks of bowl prep will be big for developing the position going forward. 

Best of luck to Nick going forward!

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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