New Stanford football coach Troy Taylor has hired the man who will be tasked with turning around the Cardinal defense, which ranked 113th nationally in yards per game this season.
Bobby April III joins Taylor’s staff as the defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach. April most recently was at Wisconsin, where he was the Badgers’ outside linebackers coach and defensive run game coordinator.
April is known as a strong recruiter who can help develop linebackers into NFL prospects. He was a finalist for Michigan’s defensive coordinator job last offseason, but after the Badgers fired head coach Paul Chryst mid-season and hired Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell to replace him, April’s future and that of the Wisconsin staff has been up in the air.
Under defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, who stepped in as interim head coach, April helped Wisconsin earn top-30 rankings nationally in total defense (305.4 yards per game), rushing defense (103.2 ypg) and scoring defense (20.5 points per game), with a No. 31 ranking in pass defense (202.2 ypg).
“At Wisconsin, he and Jim Leonhard have consistently produced some of the top defenses in the nation,” Taylor said in a statement. “His reputation for recruiting and developing NFL talent is widely respected across the country. This is truly a great fit for Stanford. I can’t wait for him to get started.”
Some of the players April helped develop at Wisconsin since arriving in 2018 include NFL players Andrew Van Ginkel (Dolphins) and Zach Baun (Saints), as well as 2022 Big Ten sack leader Nick Herbig.
Taylor’s focus is on the offensive side of the ball, so April, who spent six seasons before joining Wisconsin in the NFL with the Eagles, Jets and Bills, will independently oversee the defense.
April joins Klayton Adams (o-line and run game coordinator), Malcolm Agnew (running backs), Tyler Osborne (wide receivers) and Ryan Deatrick (sports performance).
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