MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin took a major step in addressing its inexperience in the backfield, as former Clemson tailback Chez Mellusi announced he is transferring to the Badgers program.

Mellusi, who was on campus Tuesday, is eligible immediately with the NCAA granting a one-time transfer exemption, allowing students to switch schools without having to sit out a season. The rule comes at a critical time for Wisconsin, which was slated to have seven scholarship running backs on its fall roster with a combined 73 career carries.

A former four-star tailback, Mellusi played in 21 games for the Tigers as a backup for Travis Etienne, who was drafted 25th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. In those two seasons, Mellusi tallied 427 yards rushing and six touchdowns on 71 carries and five catches for 38 yards and a score. He was expected to contend with Lyn-J Dixon and Kobe Pace for the starting running back slot but rushed for only 10 yards on five carries in Clemson’s spring game.

A report from Rivals.com’s Mike Farrell this spring said Liberty, Louisville, Purdue, UCF, and Vanderbilt were also in pursuit, but that the Wisconsin staff was the most aggressive. Mellusi picked Clemson over finalist Miami and Notre Dame coming out of Naples (Fla.) High School.

Since running back coach Gary Brown started his official UW Twitter account April 15, the nature of his tweets have been motivational quotes and stats about the success of past Wisconsin tailbacks. It’s part of Brown’s recruiting pitch to high school prospects about UW’s rich tailback tradition but also a pitch to players like Mellusi.

Losing Garrett Groshek to the NFL and Nakia Watson to the transfer portal (Washington State), the Badgers started spring with only three healthy scholarship tailbacks. That number dwindled to zero by the end of last week, severely limiting what the Badgers could do from an offensive standpoint.

With the addition of Mellusi, the Badgers add a quality option opposite sophomore Jalen Berger, who played only four games as a true freshman but still led the Badgers in rushing (301).