MADISON – Wisconsin's star halfback Braelon Allen will declare for the NFL Draft, he announced Tuesday on his personal Twitter account.
After openly talking about his desire to go pro prior to the 2023 campaign, this move comes as little surprise. Allen has been the Badgers' top halfback for the better part of three seasons after bursting onto the scene as a 17-year old true freshman in 2021.
Allen's ascension to stardom was rapid. After being recruited to Wisconsin as an athlete initially expected to play safety, former head coach Paul Chryst converted him to running back in the summer prior to his freshman season.
Still, Allen was buried on the depth chart at tailback. But when three ball-carriers were dismissed from the program early in the fall — Jalen Berger, Loyal Crawford and Antwon Roberts — the door was opened for Allen to make an impact. That's exactly what he did.
His freshman season, he stuffed the stat sheet with 1,268 yards and 12 touchdowns on 6.8 yards-per-carry. He put up the vast majority of those number through the season's final nine games.
The ensuing two seasons would be slightly less fruitful for Allen, but he still racked up stats as the Badgers' workhorse back. When all was said and done, he finished with 3,494 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns on 5.9 yards-per-carry. The halfback also added 49 catches for 275 yards, with much of his receiving production coming in his final season with first-year offensive coordinator Phil Longo.
Allen's prolific career has cemented his place amongst Badger legends at running back. As it currently stands in the Wisconsin history books, he's 9th all-time in rushing yards and 11th all-time in rushing touchdowns. His 20 career games with 100-plus yards rushing is tied for 6th all-time. His career average of 5.9 yards-per-carry ranks 4th all-time. Allen also has the longest running play in Wisconsin history, a 96-yard touchdown against Illinois State in 2022.
Allen will enter the draft as part of a loaded running back class that's expected to feature names such as Michigan's Blake Corum, Ohio State's TreVeyon Henderson and Florida State's Trey Benson. With the value of running backs in the NFL plummeting, it's anyone's guess as to where and when Allen may land in the draft, but day two and onwards appears most likely.
This spring, Wisconsin is expected to return Jackson Acker, Cade Yacamelli, Grover Bortolotti and Nate White from the current roster. The Badgers also have commitments from scholarship backs Gideon Ituka, Darrion Dupree and Dilin Jones in the 2024 class. Fifth-year senior Chez Mellusi could also return to the roster.
*Writers note: BadgerBlitz.com will have more on this story in the coming days*
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