Notes: Chez Mellusi ahead of schedule, inside linebacker rotation fluid

MADISON - Following a practice that was open to the media, head coach Paul Chryst met with reporters on Monday morning.

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When senior tailback Chez Mellusi met with reporters prior to the start of fall camp, he mentioned he was feeling a 100 percent and would be go for fall camp. He wasn't kidding.

The Badgers are just a week into camp but the early returns from Mellusi have beeen positive. Returning from a torn ACL he suffered back in November against Rutgers, Mellusi has surprised Chryst with just how well he's bounced back.

"The way I was thinking about it, if you can just clear some hurdles each practice," Chryst said Monday morning. "It sounds simple but in a team setting he had a handoff, it wasn’t live but he got hit a little bit. So that was good to see, and he had another one where he kind of got banged and got knocked to the ground and got back up. You don’t want to take those for granted, those are hurdles he has to get through and he’s been able to get probably as much as we want him to get and want him to be in a situation where he’s wanting to more."

Mellusi is making his way back after missing all of spring ball. He believed there would be a plan in place for him to have a day off here and there, but to this point, he's ahead of schedule.

"He has been able to get good work in and, honestly, a little bit more than I had anticipated," Chryst added.

With Mark D'Onofrio now leading the room of inside linebackers - the group's third position coach since 2021 - the pairings and rotations have been fluid this fall. During Monday's session, the first duo up at inside linebacker was Jordan Turner and Jake Chaney. With the team just recently getting things underway and D'Onofrio still learning about his group, Chryst said the position will be fluid.

"There is a balance he's trying to strike. There's truly a position group where you're saying there is good, healthy competition. It's still early, though," Chryst said. "Those first four practices, you’re just trying to get your football legs underneath you and there’s install. I think you have to be careful as coaches not to evaluate too soon.

"I do think he values who he plays next to each other but it’s not going to be hard set in stone who plays next to each other. Part of it, too, is how do we work and manage to get everyone the rep?"

Chryst and Bob Bostad haven't been able to get a proper look at the competition at right tackle thus far in camp. That should change this week with the team getting work in full pads beginning on Tuesday.

"We’ve had five practices and three of them have been helmets only, so for linemen it’s a little bit different to evaluate or to get a sense of it than maybe one of the skill guys," Chryst said.

Logan Brown, who took most of the reps as the first team right tackle during the spring, received all of the first-team reps at the position during the open practice. Redshirt freshman Riley Mahlman has been seen taking some reps with the first team at the position and will compete with Brown throughout fall camp for the starting role.

"I’ve appreciated what Logan fights through every day to be out here, and that’s not easy," Chryst said. "One thing I’ve never questioned about Logan is what his intentions are. He cares about this team and he wants to do what he can, and I think he’s gotten better. It’s a short sample size but I think he’s certainly done stuff over the summer and he’s worked. Riley, I thought that he had a good spring and I think he continued to push himself and kept working. Again, early, but like the way that he’s started."

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