Badgers: DE Garrett Rand announces retirement from football
Wisconsin will have to replace both of its starting defensive ends next season.
Days after Isaiahh Loudermilk confirmed he was headed to the NFL, fellow senior Garrett Rand announced he was retiring from football.
— Garrett Rand (@rand3218) January 9, 2021
Rand cited injuries as the main reason he would not be pursuing a professional career or taking advantage of the NCAA’s waiver allowing players a sixth year of eligibility due to the pandemic. The Arizona native had a number of injuries throughout his career, including tearing an Achilles tendon in 2018 and missing the entire year.
During his time with the Badgers, Rand had 57 tackles, four tackles for loss and one sack. The numbers don’t do him and the rest of the defensive line justice, though, as the group is mainly used to keep the offensive line off of the linebackers. Wisconsin had a top-10 run defense in all four years Rand played.
Rand was one of the first big recruits of Paul Chryst’s tenure at Wisconsin, as the Badgers beat out UCLA, Arizona, Michigan State, Washington, Stanford and Nebraska among others for the 4-star prospect in 2016.
