The 2022 preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation's top college running back, included two Wisconsin tailbacks.
Sophomore Braelon Allen and senior Chez Mellusi represent the Badgers for the honor, presented by the PwC SMU Athletic Forum.
As a true freshman, Allen, 6-foot-2, 240 pounds, played in 12 games and started four contests. He led Wisconsin and ranked No. 3 in the Big Ten with 1,268 total rushing yards. The former four-star prospect was one of just four backs, along with Ron Dayne (1996), James White (2010) and Jonathan Taylor (2017), to run for over 1,000 yards as a true freshmen in school history.
"There's moments where you feel like, 'Yeah, I can really help him with that.' And then there's moments where it feels like dad let you take the Lamborghini out, and you don't want us crash that baby," position coach Al Johnson said of Allen this spring. "So there's all kinds of things, but at the end of the day, the best part of working with him is the fact that he always wants to be great. He wants to push himself, he wants to get better. He wants to find the things that can keep moving him forward and keep elevating his game."
Mellusi, who transferred to UW from Clemson, ran for 815 yards on 4.7 yards per carry with five touchdowns last fall. He tore his ACL against Rutgers and had surgery on his knee on Nov. 24. Prior to that, he started nine games for the Badgers.
"My goal is to be available Sept. 3, so that’s the plan," Mellusi said this spring.
Past Wisconsin Doak Walker Award winners include Dayne (1999), Montee Ball (2012), Melvin Gordon (2014) and Taylor (2018, 2019).
Complete ListÂ
Devon Achane (Jr.), Texas A&M
Braelon Allen (So.), Wisconsin
Rasheen Ali (So.), Marshall
Ronald Awaft (Sr.), UTEP
Tank Bigsby (Jr.), Auburn
Isiaih Bowser (Sr.), UCF
British Brooks (Sr.), North Carolina
Jarek Broussard (Sr.), Michigan State
Antario Brown (So.), Northern Illinois
Chase Brown (Jr.), Illinois
Jermaine Brown (Jr.), UAB
Nate Carter (So.), UCONN
Zach Charbonnet (Sr.), UCLA
Blake Corum (Jr.), Michigan
Travis Dye (Sr.), USC
Justice Ellison (So.), Wake Forest
Samson Evans (Jr.), Eastern Michigan
Deshaun Fenwick (Jr.), Oregon State
Alex Fontenot (Sr.), Colorado
Pat Garwo (Jr.), Boston College
Frank Gore, Jr. (So.), Southern Miss
Eric Gray (Sr.), Oklahoma
Gerald Green (Jr.), Georgia Southern
Tucker Gregg (Sr.), Georgia State
Hassan Hall (Sr.), Georgia Tech
Deion Hankins (So.), UTEP
TreVeyon Henderson (So.), Ohio State
George Holani (Jr.), Boise State
Evan Hull (Sr.), Northwestern
Mohamed Ibrahim (Sr.), Minnesota
Dillon Johnson (Jr.), Mississippi State
Roschon Johnson (Sr.), Texas
Austin Jones (Sr.), USC
Johnnie Lang, Jr. (Sr.), Arkansas State
Keyvone Lee (So.), Penn State
Joquavious Marks (Jr.), Mississippi State
DeWayne McBride (Jr.), UAB
Chez Mellusi (Sr.), Wisconsin
Kendre Miller (Jr.), TCU
Jordan Mims (Sr.), Fresno State
Keaton Mitchell (So.), East Carolina
Damien Moore (Jr.), Cal
Devin Neal (So.), Kansas
Lew Nichols, III (So.), Central Michigan
Jermaine Brown (Jr.), UAB
Nate Carter (So.), UCONN
Zach Charbonnet (Sr.), UCLA
Blake Corum (Jr.), Michigan
Travis Dye (Sr.), USC
Justice Ellison (So.), Wake Forest
Samson Evans (Jr.), Eastern Michigan
Deshaun Fenwick (Jr.), Oregon State
Alex Fontenot (Sr.), Colorado
Pat Garwo (Jr.), Boston College
Frank Gore, Jr. (So.), Southern Miss
Eric Gray (Sr.), Oklahoma
Gerald Green (Jr.), Georgia Southern
Tucker Gregg (Sr.), Georgia State
Hassan Hall (Sr.), Georgia Tech
Deion Hankins (So.), UTEP
TreVeyon Henderson (So.), Ohio State
George Holani (Jr.), Boise State
Evan Hull (Sr.), Northwestern
Mohamed Ibrahim (Sr.), Minnesota
Dillon Johnson (Jr.), Mississippi State
Roschon Johnson (Sr.), Texas
Austin Jones (Sr.), USC
Johnnie Lang, Jr. (Sr.), Arkansas State
Keyvone Lee (So.), Penn State
Joquavious Marks (Jr.), Mississippi State
DeWayne McBride (Jr.), UAB
Chez Mellusi (Sr.), Wisconsin
Kendre Miller (Jr.), TCU
Jordan Mims (Sr.), Fresno State
Keaton Mitchell (So.), East Carolina
Damien Moore (Jr.), Cal
Devin Neal (So.), Kansas
Lew Nichols, III (So.), Central Michigan
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