Jake Pickard commits to Wisconsin: Badgers net 3-star defensive end

Wisconsin received the verbal commitment from three-star defensive end Jake Pickard (Millburn, N.J. Millburn Sr.) on Thursday after he announced the news via his personal twitter account.

Pickard is the 18th commitment for Gary Andersen’s 2015 class and the third defensive end, joining David Pfaff (Thiensville, Wisc. Homestead) and Nate Howard (Saint Louis, Mo. Ladue Horton Watkins), all three are three-star recruits.

The 6-6, 231-pound weak-side defensive end is the nation’s No. 1,194 recruit overall regardless of position, No. 55 weak-side defensive end and the No. 31 recruit in the state of New Jersey, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

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He picked the Badgers over offers from Boston College, Virginia, Purdue and Oregon, among others. The offer from Wisconsin was extended earlier this month on July 7 and chose the Badgers in part because of their family atmosphere.

“It was a mix of things,” Pickard told 247Sports hours before going public with his decision. “Family atmosphere, the campus itself, the facilities, the teammates, I got to hang out with and the coaches, and while I was there I just had that feeling.”

“I’m so excited to be part of this program,” he said. “I have a lot of work to do before I go out there to contribute to the team, and I’m looking forward to the journey, but I’m very humbled to have the opportunity to be a Badger.”

With today’s commitment from Pickard, Wisconsin now owns the nation’s No. 22 class and the No. 3 class in the Big Ten, according to the 247Sports team rankings.