Final Wisconsin Badgers positional recruit snapshot: 2021 running backs

Over the next two weeks, BadgerBlitz.com will be bringing you final snapshots for each recruited position, covering the targets who are legitimate prospects on Wisconsin's board in the 2021 class. We will discuss the candidates who are committed and most interested in the Badgers, as well as those who came off UW's board.

Today, we continue with a look at the running backs.

QBs |

Garrett Groshek returns this fall as the veteran of a tailback group that also includes Nakia Watson, Isaac Guerendo, Brady Schipper, Julius Davis and Jalen Berger. In the 2021 class, the Badgers already have commitments from projected tailbacks Loyal Crawford and Antwan Roberts; athlete Jackson Acker may also get his feet wet with John Settle's group when he arrives on campus. At fullback, all three players from the 2019 stable - Mason Stokke, John Chenal and Quan Easterling - return this fall.

Wisconsin secured an early commitment from in-state tailback Loyal Crawford in August. The 6-foot, 190-pound rising senior was also hearing from Iowa, Northern Illinois, North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota, South Dakota State and Illinois State at the time of his commitment.

"I first met Loyal when he got done with 8th grade when he came in to lift in the summer," head coach Mike Sinz told BadgerBlitz.com. "He was so explosive, so fast and he was lifting with our upperclassmen - kids that were three or four years older than him. Right away you knew he was a gifted kid and he's starting to put it all together.

"He had the collarbone injury last year and he'll be a huge piece of the puzzle for us. He's our guy on offense and he is, in my opinion, one of the best kids in the state. And with my growing up following high school football really closely, he's probably the best football player I've ever been around. He's that talented."

A three-star prospect, Crawford returned to campus for a junior day event on Feb. 1 and spent a good chunk of time with future position coach John Settle.

"He just told me to keep working hard, stuff like that," Crawford told BadgerBlitz.com. "Coach Settle gave me a lot of tips on how to be more explosive and how to prepare mentally. We talked about graduating early and he's excited for me to do that, especially being an in-state kid. He thinks that's going to give me a big advantage. They said don't worry about my size too much because they will take care of that when I get there. They like where I'm at right now."

Antwan Roberts, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior from Pope John Paul II in Tennessee, committed to the Badgers in April. He was the 10th pledge for head coach Paul Chryst in the 2021 cycle.

"I took a visit to Wisconsin in November when they played Purdue," Roberts told BadgerBlitz.com. "I was there for a weekend and outside of all the football stuff, I saw the city and everything it had to offer. It was clean and I loved everything about it. Wisconsin offers everything I'm looking for in a school.

"When it comes to producing great running backs, Wisconsin has some of the best in the history of college football. So that was very intriguing. It feels great to have a chance to be mentioned with some of the great running backs Wisconsin has had. They all have their spot in the history of college football with the records they set. So I'm excited to get to work to be the next great one."

Wisconsin is full at running back in the 2021 class, but it will be interesting to see how Jackson Acker develops over the next year or so. The three-star prospect earned his offer as a running back at camp in 2019, and that was his listed position during the junior day on Feb. 1. But there's a chance Acker, 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, grows into a linebacker or even fullback at the next level.

"Talking to the Wisconsin coaches, they see Jackson as an athlete," Wildcats' head coach Dave Richardson told BadgerBlitz.com. "If he stays around the same size, he is fast and quick enough to play running back, and he proved that at camp. But if he grows into something else, he'd also be great as an outside linebacker in their 3-4 defense. He could potentially carry 240 or 250 pounds in a few years. The possibilities are endless because he has a great frame and isn't done growing yet.

"For us, he's going to be all over the field. We just have to decide where he's going to create the most havoc. When you get a kid like this, you're going to spread him around quite a bit and have some fun with it."

Acker rushed for over 900 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior.

Wisconsin made runs at elite tailbacks Evan Pryor, Will Shipley and Corey Kiner, but they landed at Ohio State, Clemson and LSU, respectively. Mar'Keise Irving was a top target for the staff early in the process, but things faded this off-season as the staff honed in on Roberts. DeAndre Boykins (North Carolina) also listed an offer from the Badgers.

Wisconsin will have to figure out how to work with Crawford, Roberts and Acker next fall, but it's certainly not a bad problem to have. With the position pretty much set since April, the staff has been able to focus on the 2022 class. Nicholas Singleton visited on March 1 and the Badgers handed out five offers at tailback - Kaytron Allen, Damari Alston, Omarion Hampton, Michael Allen and Gi'Bran Payne - on the same day in mid-May. Taking one scholarship player in the rising junior cycle makes sense at this point.