Patrick Johnson leaves Badgers for personal reasons

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The Wisconsin Badgers secondary stepped up in a major way in the 2018 season opener. Now it will have to deal with the loss of one of its expected biggest contributors.

On Wednesday morning the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that backup safety Patrick Johnson II, who was third overall on the depth chart, was leaving the program.

The report indicates that it wasn’t due to the head injury sustained leading up to Week 1, but rather for personal reasons.

Johnson was expected to be a major contributor on the field and came to the Badgers as one of the most highly ranked safeties the Badgers have had in the program.

He was recruited by the likes of Georgia, Michigan State and Oklahoma amongst 21 total offers in the 2016 class.

Wisconsin will continue to rely on youth at safety this season, as the depth chart will now have true freshman Reggie Pearson Jr., who was also out in Week 1, playing in the two-deep. He will also be joined by redshirt sophomore Eric Burrell, who will back up Scott Nelson.

Johnson’s departure is the third for the defense in the past few months. Senior linebacker Arrington Farrar was dismissed from the team in fall camp, while sophomore cornerback Dontye Carriere-Williams left the program just before Week 1 against Western Kentucky.

The Badgers secondary held up well in that game against the Hilltoppers, giving up just 181 yards passing. UW also kept Western Kentucky out of the end zone and Faion Hicks got an interception in his first collegiate start.

Obviously, loosing a player like Johnson will test the depth and experience of this group even further.

Luckily, there’s D’Cota Dixon in the mix, who put Week 1’s impressive start for the secondary in perspective earlier this week.

“I feel like they are mature,” Dixon said. “But at the same time, it is only one game. So you don’t get too excited. You’ve got to play even and just keep playing the game and keep developing that momentum and that hunger.”

New Mexico is up next on Saturday, and they are an offense in transition to the spread attack made famous by Rich Rodriguez at stops at West Virginia and Arizona.

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When you think you're climbing in the depth chart and end up actually going down, it's difficult finding the motivation to continue in the game. It's possible he'll be emerging at another school down the road.
 
When you think you're climbing in the depth chart and end up actually going down, it's difficult finding the motivation to continue in the game. It's possible he'll be emerging at another school down the road.
There are multiple reasons kids leave. Academic, family, girlfriends, homesick. It’s not always playing time. These are 18 and 19 year old kids. Things happen. Maybe the head injury was a wake up call.
 
It all ties together. It's the athletics, and being able to compete at a high level, that overcomes so many of those hardships. When you feel it slipping, it can be pretty rough. Everything looks worse when it happens. It could also be an outside influence, like you indicated, that caused his game to slip. You just never know.
 
There are multiple reasons kids leave. Academic, family, girlfriends, homesick. It’s not always playing time. These are 18 and 19 year old kids. Things happen. Maybe the head injury was a wake up call.
Everything I read including some comments leads to the same as the other guy, didn't want to sit and wait. But if your truly not happy it's best for everyone.
 
I left my college program when it became apparent that I wasn't going to get a fair shake. But I was a walk-on fighting recruits being propped up by some very...active...boosters.

That was always a problem. Boosters throw it in the face of ADs that "they" find the talent, and pay the bills with donations to the program. As you know, they even dole out money to their "protegees" to insure they do their best. I can tell you stories about guys actually being in charge of hall way lights, changing bulbs when one burns out. Getting paid a decent amount of money to do it, and one I know, given a car to use for transportation,, because it was 4 blocks from where he was housed. I know of two where the boosters gave the recruit's dad a job to get the kid on board. Another situation where a kid was hedging on which school he would attend, so the school found a way to get his girlfriend a scholarship, using her to lure him to their program.

I hope this has changed, but from what I've seen, there's a couple of schools in the south who still think this is how it's done.
 
I hope this has changed, but from what I've seen, there's a couple of schools in the south who still think this is how it's done.

There are schools in all Power 5 conferences that do that now, even the B1G and even one very close to our hearts
 
I have no idea what Wisconsin does now. I do know what one SEC school is doing, because I heard it directly from an assistant coach who retired. He left coaching because he wanted to spend time with his family since he was getting older. He left the program happy to having been there, so no sour grapes.
 
I have no idea what Wisconsin does now. I do know what one SEC school is doing, because I heard it directly from an assistant coach who retired. He left coaching because he wanted to spend time with his family since he was getting older. He left the program happy to having been there, so no sour grapes.
I would say 95% of SEC schools do, maybe Vandy the exception.
 
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