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Wisconsin lands 2023 OL James Durand out of Arizona

The Badgers added their second commit in the 2023 class on Friday morning.

Matt Belz

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Sitting on one commit since late January, the Wisconsin Badgers have been actively offering prospects the past few months in search of the next player to add to the 2023 recruiting class. 

On Friday morning, Wisconsin secured their second commitment in the class with offensive lineman James Durand taking to social media to announce his decision.

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Rated as a three-star prospect by 247 Sports and Rivals, Durand is likely to start his career with the Badgers as an interior offensive lineman. At 6-foot-6 and around 285 pounds, he moves well for a player of his size, which makes him an intriguing guard prospect in Wisconsin's offense. 

From Chandler, Arizona, Durand made the long trip to Madison for an unofficial visit back in late March to see a spring practice and came away with a scholarship offer from new offensive line coach Bob Bostad. 

A month and a half later, he joins linebacker Tyler Jansey as the second commit in the 2023 class for the Badgers and the first offensive lineman. 

In the end, Durand picked Wisconsin over scholarship offers from Arizona, BYU, California, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Oregon State, San Diego State, Utah, and Utah State. A high-academic athlete, Durand also had multiple Ivy League opportunities as well. 

The addition of Durand makes a lot of sense for the Badgers after taking mostly tackles along the offensive line the past few classes. A natural interior player, Durand could be an option at center or guard down the line for the Badgers. 

With official visit season just about to begin, Durand's commitment could spur more movement in the 2023 class, and potentially help Wisconsin secure some momentum on the recruiting front. Expect to take one or two more offensive linemen in this recruiting cycle to pair with Durand, with Joe Crocker being the top player on the board early on. 

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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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