Wisconsin CB Wildgoose says he plans to enter NFL draft

Wisconsin cornerback Rachad Wildgoose is declaring for the NFL draft and isn’t expected to play in the Badgers’ remaining games this season.

Wildgoose announced his decision via Twitter on Friday. He injured his shoulder in the first half of a 17-7 loss at Northwestern last week and had his arm in a sling for the second half of the game.

In his tweet, Wildgoose said that “being a part of what I consider the greatest university in America has been the honor of my life.”

The 5-foot-11 junior from Miami played two games for the 18th-ranked Badgers this season and had six tackles, including two for loss. He had 22 tackles and seven passes defended in 2019. He finished the 2018 season with 29 tackles, seven passes defended and two fumble recoveries.

Wildgoose’s announcement comes three days after Wisconsin’s scheduled game Saturday with Minnesota got canceled due to positive COVID-19 cases within the Gophers’ program. The cancellation essentially knocked Wisconsin out of the Big Ten championship picture.

According to Big Ten protocols this season, teams must play at least six games to be eligible for the conference championship game. If the average number of league games played by all Big Ten teams is below six, programs must play no less than two fewer league games than that average to be eligible.

Wisconsin has played three games and has only two more left on its schedule, a Dec. 5 home game with No. 12 Indiana and a Dec. 12 visit to Iowa. A COVID-19 outbreak within the team caused Wisconsin to cancel scheduled games with Nebraska and Purdue earlier this season.

The Badgers already had their Big Ten title hopes dealt a severe blow last week by losing to Northwestern, a result that enabled the 11th-ranked Wildcats (5-0) to take command of the West Division race.