Wisconsin Football: Jonathan Taylor’s torrid freshman campaign continues

Wisconsin football has an elite freshman on its hands and his name is Jonathan Taylor. He just broke Adrian Peterson’s freshman rushing record.

If you play running back for Wisconsin, chances are you’re going to have a strong career behind a usually-elite offensive line. Over the past few years, it’s been Melvin Gordon, Montee Ball and James White. Don’t forget Ron Dayne back in the 1990s.

Nowadays, the Badgers are led by all-everything freshman Jonathan Taylor. The 5-foot-11 freshman from New Jersey has gone from relative unknown to a NCAA record holder.

In fact, he broke the NCAA record for rushing yards during a freshman season during the Orange Bowl against Miami on Saturday night. He passed Dayne, a former Badger, and Adrian Peterson who has been one of the NFL’s best running backs over the past decade.

Joining some elite company, Taylor has a bright future in Madison. Not only has he surpassed all of the elite freshman backs before him at Wisconsin, but he’s on pace to have one of the best collegiate careers of any running back.

Taylor and the Badgers took a 24-14 lead after falling behind Miami early on in the Orange Bowl and his 85 yards on 16 carries were a big reason for the advantage. While he wasn’t a Heisman Trophy finalist this season, expect him to get an invite to New York next season.

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Wisconsin continues to churn out elite running backs. Just imagine how good the Badgers would be if they had a top-tier quarterback, too.