MADISON – Falling short of championship expectations in 2021, the University of Wisconsin looks to return to the top of the Big Ten West Division.

The Badgers will have some familiar faces on offense but will have some work to do to improve a unit that has averaged less than 26 points per game the last two seasons. Wisconsin’s defense was No.1 in the country last season in total yardage and against the run, but the Badgers must replace eight starters. UW also is dealing with changes to its special teams and has revamped its coaching staff.

All of it breathes excitement (and some nervous energy) leading into the season opener against FCS opponent Illinois State at Camp Randall Stadium (6 p.m./FS1).

With Wisconsin beginning fall camp later this month, BadgerBlitz.com begins its position-by-position breakdown of the fall roster. We continue our analysis with the tailbacks and fullbacks.

Fall Previews: Quarterbacks |

After Wisconsin’s running back room felt largely in flux for the first half of the 2021 season, the Badgers begin 2022 with a clear-cut starter in sophomore Braelon Allen. A 17-year-old freshman who blossomed when given more opportunities due to injuries, Allen returns after garnering second-team All-Big Ten honors last season.

The starter at the onset of last season after transferring from Clemson, Chez Mellusi ran for 815 yards (4.7 ypc) and five touchdowns before tearing his ACL in a November road win at Rutgers. Joining Mellusi on the comeback trail are seniors Isaac Guerendo and Brady Schipper, a duo who also did not participate during spring practices. Their absences during team drills opened the door for Julius Davis, as the fourth-year junior worked as the No.2 tailback throughout spring.

Walk-on Grover Bortolotti also received an ample amount of carries this spring behind Allen and Davis. Another redshirt freshman, Jackson Acker saw time both at fullback and tailback in the spring. Walk-ons Riley Nowakowski (sophomore) and Garrison Solliday (redshirt freshman) are the only fullbacks listed on UW’s roster.

First-year Wisconsin running back coach Al Johnson isn’t the prototypical hire for that publicized position at the school. He’s a former standout offensive lineman for the Badgers in the early 2000s, a collegiate career that earned him six years at the NFL level. He coached as a graduate assistant on head coach Paul Chryst’s staff from 2016-17 and spend the last four years as the head coach of Division II East Central in Oklahoma.

But when the opportunity is there to coach a player like Allen for the Badgers, it’s hard to say no.

“At the end of the day, the best part of working with him is the fact that he always wants to be great,” Johnson said. “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.”

Allen ran for 1,268 yards on 6.8 yards per carry with 12 touchdowns last year, recording eight 100-yard plus performances in the final nine contests. In that latter span, he averaged 135.4 yards per outing. In back-to-back games against Northwestern and Nebraska, Allen had 401 yards and six touchdowns.

To further push himself, Allen spent time at the Running Back Academy in Florida under trainer Jerry Seymour, who had previously worked with former UW tailbacks Melvin Gordon, Dare Ogunbowale, Jonathan Taylor, and James White. Allen’s offseason has put him in a tremendous physical position to be the main focal point of Wisconsin’s offense in 2022.

The real pressing concern for the Badgers early this season will be depth. Mellusi hopes to be back from his surgically repaired ACL by the September 3 opener against Illinois State but will likely be brought along slowly. The same can be said about Guerendo, who has played in just 15 games in his UW career and is recovering from another lower-body injury. Their injuries could mean early season chances for Schipper, who worked mostly on third downs in passing situations and finished with 198 total yards on 35 touches, or Davis (109 yards on 5.2 attempts) to help carry the load offensively.

History shows that Wisconsin’s offense tends to function at a higher level when at least two – preferably three – tailbacks are healthy and able to take snaps. Finding healthy supplements to Allen will be important during August.

One of the more positions Wisconsin will need to identify in the weeks ahead is who will be John Chenal’s successor at fullback. Nowakowski is the most “experienced” fullback of the two listed (six collegiate games) but has played little (if any) in-game fullback and spent a lot of time in spring at the tight end position.

A player to watch might be Acker, the only surviving tailback of the trio UW signed in 2021 who spent a lot of reps at fullback during his first spring camp.

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 former UW back Alec Ingold as someone who can help an offense in multiple ways.

“I think he's a guy that can do it all,’ Johnson said of Acker. “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.”

The fullback is asked to do a lot in Wisconsin’s offense, so finding a tough, smart, dependable option who can block in space, block in pass protection, and work successfully in short-yardage situations will be critical to UW’s offense.

Allen can follow the steps of Taylor and become a true threat out of the backfield with his ability to catch the ball in the passing game. Taylor caught only eight passes in each of his first two seasons but had 26 for 252 yards and five touchdowns his junior year. Being a threat on all three downs put him on the field more, opened the offense, and improved his draft stock.

Allen, Johnson, Chryst, and quarterback Graham Mertz have talked about the importance of getting Allen the ball in space. Allen was targeted as a receiver on just 12 passes last season, according to Pro Football Focus, and he recorded eight catches for 39 yards. Mertz has talked about getting Allen more involved in the passing game and in one-on-one situations in space. That led to Allen doing more pass-focused drills during spring.

Seeing Allen in the backfield won’t be anything new to Wisconsin opponents this season. But considering the Badgers face three teams who were top 15 against the run last season this upcoming fall (No.8 Minnesota, No.13 Iowa, No.15 Michigan State), getting Allen the ball in different looks and situations can only increase his effectiveness.

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