Wisconsin Football News: Badgers Trending for 4-Star RB, Braelon Allen Honored, More

It’s been a busy couple of days for the Wisconsin football program, ladies and gents, but fear not because BadgerNotes can help get you back up to speed with a roundup of some important news you may have missed.

Wisconsin Badgers Pick Up Crystal Ball for 2024 Recruit

On Sunday, following an unofficial visit to Madison, 247Sports recruiting insider Evan Flood placed a crystal ball prediction for the Wisconsin football program to land 2024 four-star running back Darrion Dupree out of Chicago, Illinois.

“It’s a running back school,” he told 247Sports. “Can’t go wrong with that. The offensive line they always have a good offensive line. Then coach Fickell overall; I just know he’ll develop me as a person.

According to the 247Sports Composite, he is the No. 360 player in the 2024 recruiting class, the No. 35 RB in the country, and the No. 8 player in Illinois.

Dupree currently holds 28 offers, most notably from Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Rutgers, and several other Power 5 programs.

The Badgers expect to take two RBs in the 2024 recruiting cycle, and it’s clear that Luke Fickell and his staff are prioritizing the 5-foot-10, 190-pound tailback from Mt. Carmel High School.

No commitment is imminent, but the shifty tailback reportedly scheduled an official visit in June before leaving campus, and all indications point towards Wisconsin being in the driver’s seat.

Wisconsin Football Has a Walter Camp Preseason All-American 

The first preseason honors have rolled out, and Wisconsin has a representative in junior Braelon Allen, who earned a nod to the Walter Camp Preseason All-America team as the second-team running back.

Agent 0️⃣ 🤝 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐀𝐥𝐥-𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 @BraelonAllen | @WalterCampFF pic.twitter.com/DkfwT9ecbJ

— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) March 31, 2023

In 2022, Allen earned second-team All-Big Ten accolades after carrying the ball 230 times for 1,242 yards (5.4 YPC) and 11 touchdowns. He also caught a career-high 13 passes for 104 yards.

According to Pro Football Focus, the 6-foot-2, 238-pound tailback registered 671 yards after contact, 2.92 yards after contact per attempt, and was the highest-graded starting offensive player for the Badgers (79.6).

pic.twitter.com/p8qk1z0Krz

— Braelon Allen (@BraelonAllen) April 14, 2023

Allen, a Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin native, could be in line for his best season yet under new offensive coordinator Phil Longo, who intends to space out defenses, allowing for more prominent running lanes. 

Other Wisconsin Football News

As Wisconsin football enters the final third of spring practice, it’s worth discussing the comments made by Badgers offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Phil Longo about the current pecking order of his signal callers.

“There have been three guys that have shown something,” Phil Longo told UW reporters. “That would be Tanner [Mordecai], Braedyn [Locke], and Marshall Howe.” During that media availability, Longo would later confirm those were his top three on the depth chart if the season began today.

Tanner Mordecai is QB1, period. But it’s also worth mentioning that nobody should read too far into these comments, at least not during spring practice. During the installation phase, whoever knows the playbook the best and understands the language makes the most sense to reward with reps.

While complimentary of the abovementioned group, Coach Longo’s comments are pointed toward players like Nick Evers and Myles Burkett to push them to make the necessary adjustments before fall camp if they want to jump walk-on Marshall Howe and see the field.

It’s far too early to write anyone off in the QB2 competition once fall rolls around, although Mississippi State transfer Braedyn Locke appears to have a sizeable lead.

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