Wisconsin's 2022 football season is right around the corner, so BadgerBlitz.com ranked the top 30 players who we think will be the keys to success for Paul Chryst's squad this year.

Playing time, past performance and positional depth all factored in to our staff rankings.

Alvis Whitted’s wide receiver room saw the departure of long-time playmakers Kendric Pryor and Danny Davis this offseason. And while the returning group might be unproven, there is much to like about the talent in the room. Close to the top of that list is redshirt freshman Markus Allen, who showed solid flashes at the tail end of this past season. Allen appeared in a pair of games and tallied two catches for 34 yards and one carry for three yards.

Wisconsin likes to get its wide outs involved in the run game and Allen can certainly add a boost in that facet. In his first reps of game experience, Allen showed that off by taking a jet sweep for a chunk gain against Rutgers that would be brought back due to a holding penalty. Allen also has the athleticism to add an explosive piece to UW’s passing attack.

The former four-star recruit continued to put it together over the offseason, which he attributed to valuable reps during prep for the Las Vegas Bowl.

“The bowl prep and the bowl game, that helped me tremendously,” Allen told reporters in the spring. “With the confidence part, that helped me a lot. Coming in and feeling relaxed in the offense, that’s what you want to have as a player. Feeling like you know everything like the back of your hand.”

The 6-foot-1, 211-pound wide out has the tools and makeup of someone who can come in and contribute this fall. The question will be whether or not he can put it all together at a consistent level. Heading into his second season, Allen will have to battle for snaps in a crowded wide receiver room when it comes time for fall camp. Chimere Dike, Skyler Bell, Keontez Lewis and Dean Engram, among others, are all in contention for snaps.

The opportunity is there for Allen to add some juice to the offense this season. First-year offensive coordinator Bobby Engram showed a likeness for expanding the route tree more during spring practice, and Allen is a player who can add to the vertical attack.

"Markus is a guy that, obviously his practice yesterday was reminiscent of a guy that I coached at Colorado State, Michael Gallup, as far as his play strength and his ability to go up and make contested catches and really just playing faster," Whitted said on Dec. 15. "Play speed, but using his size, and his God-given ability to his advantage, and he's doing a great job of that."

Allen is going to enter a highly-contested battle for reps but should see the field often in 2022. In limited action of live game reps, he showed off what he’s capable of. And with a full offseason under his belt, Allen should be able to add some depth to a room that lacks experience outside of Dike.

“I feel like the bowl prep put a lot of weight on the younger guys because it’s time to step up," Allen said. "We had a lot of guys that left, older guys that have been here for a while but now it’s our time."

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