Key Wisconsin Badgers: No. 4 - Running back Jalen Berger

Wisconsin's 2021 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 into our staff rankings.

After he burst onto the scene as a true freshman, Jalen Berger returns to a position group that is filled with question marks heading into the fall. Berger finished with the second most carries (60) on the team and led the Badgers in rushing yards (301) in 2020. Brady Schipper, Julius Davis and Isaac Guerendo, all of whom will be battling for backup reps, have only tallied 25 carries for 68 yards combined, and transfer running back Chez Mellusi will be working to get on board with a new system.

Following the departure of experienced runners Garrett Groshek and Nakia Watson, Berger is expected to be first in line to take over the workhorse role at running back. First-year coach Gary Brown, who had spent seven years as running backs coach with the Dallas Cowboys, had some high praise for the young tailback.

"I don’t want to compare him right now because he is so young but I’ll tell you this, he is as smooth of a runner as I’ve coached as far as being able to get in and out of holes and things of that nature. He reminds me of a young Demarco (Murray) when we had him early," Brown told reporters in the spring. "Demarco was a very smooth runner but he was explosive and powerful, so that’s what I’m trying to get Jalen to be. He will get there. Again, he’s young. A couple years of getting in the weight room and getting behind the line and actually playing football will help him get there."

Berger is a talented back, but with youth comes a different set of questions. The second-year player returns with the most experience but only appeared in four games as a freshman and never totaled more than 15 carries in a single contest.

On the field, Berger, who dealt with a leg injury this spring, will need to improve on the parts of the game where he isn't handed the ball. Berger noted that he'd like to better himself as a blocker and receiver, where he only recorded a pair of catches for 13 yards - both coming in one game.

"I believe I need to work on pass protection because most of the time I was in last year, it was mainly run plays and, I guess, defenses noticed that," Berger said in the spring. "My area would be pass protection."

There is no doubt UW's offense is at its best when it has a solid running game. Following the likes of Jonathan Taylor and Groshek, Berger could become the next great running back in Madison and help ease the progression for Graham Mertz. Growth from Berger could pave the way for a bounce-back season with an experienced defense on the other side of the ball.

"I think we’re coming together as a team," Berger said. "I believe last year we didn’t really get the chance to bond because of COVID restrictions, but I believe this year we have a completely different team and we’re ready to complete the mission."

Brown's message to Berger this spring was to be one of the best running backs in the Big Ten. With a position full of inexperience and a quarterback still growing as a signal caller, Berger's next step will be one of the biggest things to look for in fall camp.

"Watching him in practice, he’s a very smooth, instinctive runner. He has a lot to learn but I think he has the skillset to be a three-phase running back and when I say three phase, I mean, can run, catch and pass protect," Brown said of Berger. "He has that type of skillset but we just have to get it out of him. He’s very young."