MADISON, WIS. -- Braelon Allen broke out in 2021, but he continues to find ways to further his game. Even on spring break.

Allen, Wisconsin's rising sophomore sensation at running back, is coming off a freshman campaign where he accumulated 1,268 yards on 6.8 yards per carry with 12 touchdowns. He registered eight 100-yard plus performances in UW's final nine games on way to claiming second-team All-Big Ten honors.

This spring, 6-foot-2, 240-pound Allen pointed towards the goal of becoming a threat out of the Wisconsin backfield not just in the rushing attack, but also in catching the ball. That has been an area he is focusing on during March and April practices.

"Just as a receiver, kind of be able to put myself in different situations to help the team," Allen told reporters on Monday. "So that's been the main point of emphasis in spring ball is just catching passes."

Allen also took advantage of his five-day trip to Florida for spring break. He used a portion of that time down in the Sunshine State to work at the Running Back Academy, a place - and trainer, Jerry Seymour - that he discovered from the coach's work with two former Wisconsin running back standouts in Jonathan Taylor and Melvin Gordon. Allen noted that Taylor, who ran for 1,811 yards on 5.5 yards per carry with 18 touchdowns last season for the Indianapolis Colts, gave him Seymour's cell phone number.

"But I really went down there just the mindset of getting ready for spring ball, getting back into football shape," Allen said. "So it was a lot of just footwork stuff."

Seymour told BadgerBlitz.com that he worked with Allen for two days earlier this month. Each session was between 75 to 90 minutes in length. During the Badger's first day, Seymour recalled having a group of NFL players that included Leonard Fournette (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), DeAndre Swift (Detroit Lions) and Jonathan Ward (Arizona Cardinals).

When sizing up Allen to Fournette -- who, according to his Buccaneers' profile, stands 6-foot tall and 228 pounds -- Seymour expressed his surprise of the college back's stature in comparison to the former LSU standout.

"Just when I had seen him walk out, and he was taller than Leonard, I was like, ‘This kid is a monster,'" Seymour told BadgerBlitz.com on Wednesday.

Seymour, who stated he has also worked previously with Gordon, Taylor, James White and Dare Ogunbowale, came away impressed with Allen's foot quickness and low center of gravity, along with his abilities during reaction drills. For that latter area, Seymour stated he "had to stop being a fan and had to remind myself to be a coach at the same time" after one particular drill.

Allen's foot quickness and reactions were areas they focused on during the couple of training sessions, according to Seymour. The latter admitted "not that much" can be done in the brief time they spent together, but he discussed establishing smaller details including foot placement, lower body posture and ability to react.

Seymour compared Allen to a combination of Fournette -- with the lateral movement and foot quickness -- and Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry with his downhill running and ability to cut once and go.

"So I believe that he's like a hybrid of those two guys currently," Seymour said.

Furthering Allen's abilities will be one task of Al Johnson as he takes over Wisconsin's running backs room. He was asked whether inheriting a player like Allen makes his new job easier and could allow him to look good, or if it is a challenge to find areas to assist a player of his caliber to improve when the assistant himself may not have broad experience mentoring that particular position group.

Johnson believes it depends on what element of playing the position one is discussing.

"Is it just being the player, the athleticism, things like that?" Johnson said. "Or is it on the things that maybe he doesn't have an extensive background in and some of that with route running and things of that nature?

"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. 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."

Jackson Acker, another young back from Johnson's position group, enters his second season in Madison and first set of spring practices. The 6-foot-1, 232-pound redshirt freshman continues to be listed as a running back, but during the two open practices so far, the Verona, Wis., native has also seen noticeable reps at fullback.

Johnson, when speaking a day prior to UW opening up spring sessions to reporters, praised Acker.

"He's been great. He really has," Johnson said. "I think he's a guy that can do it all, and I know from experience just even at a lot of players, once they get here and they start full offseason, full working, they start to get bigger and he is explosive enough. I believe he can help us in many, many different ways, and so right now he's in our room and he's learning the halfback plays and the routes and all that, but he's also learning fullback."

Acker played in two games last season, gaining 34 yards on six attempts. That included an 18-yard, third-quarter touchdown on his first career carry in the 52-3 win at Rutgers. Johnson likened him to another Badgers back who saw time at both spots during his UW career.

"So I think he's a guy that can probably have a chance if he keeps growing and doing that sort of thing, to be able to help us in multiple different areas, a lot like Alec Ingold did. There was a lot of games where Alec early in his career was the premier halfback, and I see him that he could do that same thing if things keep progressing that way."

Wisconsin signed 15 scholarship players to its 2022 recruiting class. Nose tackle Curt Neal was among six who enrolled early in January to take advantage of an early semester's worth of adaptation to the college game.

The 6-foot, 288-pound freshman has dressed and worked with the defensive line for the two open practices available to reporters this week. However, he has not been seen in team 11-on-11 periods.

That's the plan for these sessions, according to defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej.

"He's strictly indy (position work) for spring, and that's probably the best thing we could be doing for him," Kolodziej said on Wednesday. "He's explosive, he's powerful. He brings a lot to the table. Right now, I think he's in a great spot, and we just need to make sure we keep them there."

Kolodziej, a former Badger himself before joining the coaching ranks, sees Neal as a nose tackle who lines up in a 2i technique (inside shoulder of offensive guard). However, he believes the North Carolina native also has the twitch and explosiveness to play what's called a three-technique, which is when a lineman lines up on the outside shoulder of an offensive guard.

Senior nose tackle Keeanu Benton believes Neal, despite his limitations this spring, is "definitely in the playbook, which is what I like."

"You can see that he's trying," Benton told reporters on Wednesday. "I'm going to help a guy that's trying, but if you're not trying to help yourself, I can't really do much for you. I can tell you anything, but if you're not trying to implement that into your brain, it's not gonna help.

“He called me and asked me like, ‘Can you help me with this? Just walk through it with me.' Even if he knows it, he wants to have the small details down. I'm glad to help him with that, and I'm glad that he's asking for help with that.”

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