Badgers positional outlook for 2024 and beyond: Running Backs

The Wisconsin Badgers saw an influx of talent join the building at running back this offseason, landing three marquee freshmen, as well as a productive transfer, to create one of the deeper positional groups on the roster.

With the moving pieces, Wisconsin enters the fall season with eight scholarship running backs, holding a good balance between young and veteran talent.

How do the Badgers line up for the 2024 season, and beyond, at the running back position?

2024

The Badgers return Chez Mellusi to the fold after he suffered a fractured fibula, and the sixth-year senior likely takes over the top role out of the backfield.

However, Wisconsin also brought in Oklahoma transfer running back Tawee Walker, who should immediately be a contributor as the No. 2 to Mellusi, although I could see the rotation ending up as more of a 1A-1B situation.

Walker’s 5’9, 230-pound frame suits him well for early down and goal-line work, while Mellusi’s change-of-pace style suits him for a versatile three-down role.

Behind the top two, Wisconsin returns Cade Yacamelli and Jackson Acker to the fold, with the former emerging as the No. 3 back after a strong spring.

With how injuries have gone over the past few seasons, the Badgers may need to rely on one of those options at some point during the season, and they both now have experience after seeing their first extensive action in 2023.

For 2024, the question becomes: can one of the true freshmen develop enough during the fall and the early portion of the season to become a part of the rotation at some point during the year?

Gideon Ituka got his first reps during the spring, while Darrion Dupree and Dilin Jones are both joining the team for the fall. If one freshman can break into the rotation, this group becomes even more dangerous than it already is.

But, for now, the Badgers have a deep running back group with a mix of veteran experience and young, intriguing talent.

2025

Looking into the future, the Badgers will lose both Mellusi and Walker due to eligibility at the end of this season.

That leaves the team with six projected scholarship backs, and it’s expected that Wisconsin will take one back in their 2025 recruiting class after landing three this past cycle.

2025 will be a key year for the younger players, as the running back room will be wide open, with the hopes that Dupree, Jones, and Ituka can fill into the leftover reps and help field a strong two-dimensional group.

Acker will be in his final year of eligibility, while Yacamelli will have two more, and they’ll both have decisions to make, depending on what their role ultimately ends up being this year. Will either player look for more playing time elsewhere, or remain a part of the rotation at Wisconsin?

Then, there’s redshirt freshman Nate White, who hasn’t broken into the top group yet, but has intriguing speed coming from a track background.

Still, even with the losses of Mellusi and Walker, it feels that the Badgers are in good shape with their running back room after getting such a strong 2024 class, with the hope that the younger talent can acclimate quickly to the next level.