Wisconsin Badgers RB Braelon Allen Stacking Up Preseason Accolades

It’s no secret the top weapon on the Wisconsin football team is running back Braelon Allen. He has been since he set foot in Camp Randall in 2021. Allen has enjoyed two successful seasons as the bell cow back for the Badgers. He’s amassed over 2,500 yards on the ground with 23 touchdowns while running 6.0 yards per carry. What makes that even more impressive is that a majority of his runs last year were against stacked boxes.

With the Air Raid coming to Madison with Phil Longo, the expectation is Allen will explode this season. If opposing defenses need to respect the passing game for the Wisconsin football team, they won’t be able to stack the box. That means more open running lanes. I don’t think anyone is going to be more excited about that than the Badgers’ lead back.

So with all that in mind, the hype is definitely building for Allen.

Preseason Honors Continue to Pile Up for the Wisconsin Football Star

There’s plenty of evidence for the hype.

Each preseason, media outlets release their all-conference teams. Award committees release watch lists for potential players to keep an eye on for their specific awards. There are websites ranking players within their positions, conferences, and even college football as a whole.

Braelon Allen is the one Wisconsin football player who is consistently on these lists.

Let’s take a look at all of the preseason awards and accolades he has racked up before the start of his junior campaign.

Award Watch Lists

Maxwell Award – This award is presented by the Maxwell Football Club to the College Football Player of the Year. It’s essentially college football’s version of the MVP award. Ron Dayne is the last (and only) Wisconsin football player to win this award in 1999.

Racking up the accolades 📈

On the watch for 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧 ☝️@BraelonAllen | @WalterCampFF pic.twitter.com/844UGn6zJa

— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) August 11, 2023

Doak Walker Award – This award is presented to the nation’s top running back. If this award sounds familiar, it’s because it should. Wisconsin has had multiple Doak Walker Award winners in the past decade. A Badgers running back has won this award four times in an eight-year stretch from 2012 to 2019. Winners of this award include Ron Dayne (1999), Montee Ball (2012), Melvin Gordon (2014), and Jonathan Taylor (2018, 2019). The Badgers are tied with Texas for the most winners with five. Allen will look to break the tie this year and become the latest Badger to win the award.

Walter Camp Award – This award is presented annually to the nation’s best college football player (I know, redundant, right?). Ron Dayne is the only Wisconsin football player to have won this award (1999).

Media Outlets Exhibit Optimism for Wisconsin Football Star Braelon Allen

It’s not just the award watch lists that are showing Allen love. Popular media outlets release player rankings and all-conference teams, and Allen is a mainstay in those lists.

ProFootball Focus – PFF released a list ranking the top 50 college football players in 2023. Allen checked in at no. 43. He also made PFF’s Preseason All-Big Ten Conference team as a member of the first team alongside Michigan’s Blake Corum.

Walter Camp All-American Team – Allen was named a Preseason Walter Camp All-American. He was listed as a second-team running back by the Walter Camp Foundation.

The Athletic – Each year Bruce Feldman comes out with a list of athletic freaks in college football. For the second year in a row, the Badger star made the list.

College Football News – Allen was named a First-Team All-American by CFN along with Corum. So it isn’t a surprise that the same outlet has Allen and Corum listed as First-Team All-Big Ten as well.

There’s a ton of hype surrounding Allen this season. While it’s cool to be getting all of this national recognition, I’m sure Allen trying is to block out all the noise and not drink the Kool-Aid. He has a chance to add to his legacy and cement himself as one of the best running backs in Wisconsin football history. And for Wisconsin Badgers fans, it’s going to be fun to watch.

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