How Wisconsin Badgers Coaches Plan to Optimize Star RB Braelon Allen
Wisconsin coaches have a plan to optimize Braelon Allen in 2023.
Follow this link and upgrade your wardrobe with 25% off your next True Classic order.
Madison, Wis. — Badgers star running back Braelon Allen has carried the Wisconsin football program's offense in each of his first two seasons in Madison. But being a bell cow comes with its downfalls, too: you absorb a ton of extra hits along the way — hits that are bound to catch up with you eventually.
During Allen's first two seasons at UW, 268 of his 416 career carries (64%) came against defenses with 8+ defenders in the box—the most of any Power Five running back the past two seasons.
Despite the stacked boxes, Allen turned 416 carries into 2,510 yards rushing (6.0 YPC) and 23 touchdowns. Of that total, 1,500 yards came after contact — an average of 3.61 yards per carry coming after first contact, according to Pro Football Focus.
But the excess carries — and hits taken — led to some durability issues that forced him to either miss time — or play with physical limitations late in the season, which is why Luke Fickell and his coaching staff plan to keep the tread off Allen's tires.
Wisconsin Plans to Manage Braelon Allen's Workload at RB.
Luke Fickell spoke at Big Ten Media Days about a myriad of topics, including his back-to-back All-Big Ten second-team running back, Braelon Allen, and that workload mentioned above.