Wisconsin Football: 3 takeaways from home defeat to Penn State

1. Chez Mellusi set up to thrive in the Wisconsin Badgers backfield

After two years buried behind Travis Etienne on the depth chart at Clemson, former four-star recruit Chez Mellusi entered the transfer portal after the 2020 season. The native of Naples, Florida had plenty of suitors, but he opted to leave the region and head north to the Big Ten. As Mellusi showed in the season opener against the Nittany Lions, Paul Chryst and running backs coach Gary Brown pulled off a recruiting coup in the transfer portal.

It was a wise choice for Mellusi as well. The junior brings experience to the Badgers backfield that had no breakout stars ready to replace Jonathan Taylor in last year’s COVID-truncated season. He also traded one elite offensive line for another elite offensive line with a history of plowing wide lanes for running backs on their path to the NFL.

Mellusi piled up 48 rushing yards on 11 carries in just the first quarter. Another half-dozen carries in the second quarter added another 21 yards to his total. Though he was stuffed on the opening possession after the intermission, Mellusi kept going in the second half to finish the game with 121 yards on 31 hard-fought carries that included a third-quarter touchdown.

There were some fumble issues on the exchange with quarterback Graham Mertz that need to be cleaned up. What was most impressive, though, was how Mellusi showed preternatural skill in feeling out space and waiting for holes to open. The Clemson castoff proved a revelation for the Badgers in the opening game, and the Wisconsin offense will depend on Mellusi’s continued development as any other player on that side of the ball.