Dillan Johnson flips commitment to Wisconsin from Northwestern for football, wrestling
Wisconsin landed a commitment from two-sport athlete Dillan Johnson for football and wrestling. Originally committed to Northwestern, Johnson flipped and gave the verbal to Luke Fickell and Chris Bono, the football and wrestling head coaches respectively.
It’s a huge get for the wrestling program, as Johnson is ranked as the No. 2 overall heavyweight in the country, per MatScouts. Not only that, he’s the No. 18 pound-for-pound wrestler in the country and No. 11 in the Class of 2024.
Bono was quite excited to hear the news when he took to Twitter Wednesday afternoon.
“It is a great day to be a badger!,” Bono wrote.
For Wisconsin wrestling coach Chris Bono’s exclusive conversation with On3, click HERE.
On the mat, Johnson won two Illinois 2A state championships at 285 pounds. He recently placed second at the Fargo Freestyle National Tournament.
Johnson is the latest highly ranked heavyweight to commit to football and wrestling at the collegiate level. Class of 2023 top 15 recruits Ben Kueter (Iowa) and Jimmy Mullen (Virginia Tech) will do the same.
For football, Johnson is a solid get and ranked high in Illinois as a defensive lineman.
As a member of the Class of 2024, Johnson is a three-star recruit out of Joliet (Ill.) Catholic Academy, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is the No. 20 overall prospect in the state, the No. 93 defensive lineman in the class and the No. 933 overall prospect in the class.
Johnson’s decision to flip comes on the heels of Northwestern firing head coach Pat Fitzgerald. That was amid hazing allegations within the program.
Pat Fitzgerald fired with cause, attorney evaluating legal action
Lawsuits between Northwestern and Fitzgerald could be on the way.
“Northwestern fired coach Pat Fitzgerald for cause, his attorney Dan Webb tells ESPN,” ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg said via Twitter. “Webb is evaluating possible litigation around what he describes as “major” breaches of contract for Fitzgerald’s employment and the agreement with the school before Friday’s suspension.”
Fitzgerald released his first statement on the matter on Monday night. In there, he revealed he would be hiring Webb in order to “protect his right” within the law. All of this comes after Fitzgerald was originally suspended for two weeks to only then be fired for cause.
“Given this unexpected turn on events, I have entrusted my agent, Bryan Harlan, and legal counsel, Dan Webb from Winston & Strawn LLP, to take the necessary steps to protect my rights in accordance with the law.”