Wisconsin Badgers young backfield carries big expectations into 2025
Wisconsin football's 2025 backfield is young, but talented. Can Darrion Dupree, Dilin Jones & company revive the Badgers' running game?
The Wisconsin football team's offense didn't need a complete overhaul, but it sure as hell couldn't remain status quo. It needed to lean into what has traditionally worked for them—developing young talent in-house and running an offensive system that matches their collective strengths.
When head coach Luke Fickell opted to move on from Phil Longo and hire Jeff Grimes away from Kansas as the offensive coordinator, it felt like a logical step toward re-establishing Wisconsin's physical identity without completely dismissing the progress they've made in the passing game.
At Kansas, Grimes leaned heavily on 11 personnel (51% of snaps) with a mix of 12 personnel (22%) and two-back looks (10%), primarily run out of the shotgun formation. His system balances spread principles with downhill run concepts, with outside zone as a staple to set up the play-action game and create calculated shot opportunities. Expect plenty of pre-snap motion, designed not just to window-dress but to put defenses on their heels. It's a physical style that Wisconsin hopes will maximize its young talent without losing its edge at the line of scrimmage.
"I think identity is a huge thing," Grimes said. "I'd like to say that if people watched us, they would see a tough, physical brand of football that is balanced in a number of different ways. If you can run the football, then you can do anything. Everything else is going to work. If you can't run the football, you become one-dimensional. That’s where it starts, running the football and establishing an identity that is based on a rugged mentality."
For the past two seasons, that identity has been missing, and it's something that this offensive shift under Grimes hopes to rediscover.
The University of Wisconsin football program has now gone back-to-back seasons without producing a 1,000-yard rusher, something that hasn’t happened in Madison since the 2003–2004 stretch. Around here, that’s not the standard. At a place called “Running Back U,” that’s a problem.
According to Game on Paper, Wisconsin was credited with 403 rushing plays last season. The results? A total EPA of -12.73, good for 101st nationally, with -0.03 EPA per play (100th) and -1.06 EPA per game (101st).
There’s just no world where that can be the norm at Wisconsin, and you still expect to win football games. Not at a place where running the ball is supposed to be in the DNA. That’s not just subpar, it’s a culture check.
Enter Darrion Dupree and Dilin Jones, the talented young backfield that Wisconsin is counting on to carry the torch. They’ll have a lot asked of them in 2025, and the biggest question is whether they’re ready to shoulder that responsibility and help lead the Badgers back to the kind of offensive identity they’re known for, or if they're still a year away from making that jump.
Darrion Dupree: A chess piece in Wisconsin’s backfield
Darrion Dupree is shaping up to be one of the most fascinating pieces in Wisconsin’s offense moving forward. The former blue-chip recruit out of Mount Carmel High School wasted no time making an impression last fall, finishing his true freshman campaign with 79 carries for 317 yards and a touchdown, while adding 12 receptions for 110 yards out of the backfield.
Among Big Ten freshmen, he ranked second in rushing yards, no small feat for someone navigating limited opportunities in a turbulent season.
His advanced metrics only add to the excitement. Dupree graded out in the 93rd percentile in gap schemes, according to PFF, averaging 5.6 yards per attempt with a strong 78.4 grade. As a receiver, he was equally impressive, posting an 88th percentile receiving grade (77.1) on 9.9 yards per catch, and an 89th percentile mark in yards per route run (1.89).
But Dupree’s value isn’t in the numbers — it’s in his versatility.
“I think he makes really good decisions when he has the ball in his hands,” running backs coach Devon Spalding said. “And his ability to be versatile in the passing game as well, he’s got a unique skill set. His ability to create separation, not only against linebackers, but against safeties. He also played a lot of receiver when he was in high school, so that’s helped him translate to be able to do all those things that we ask him to do.”
It’s no surprise that Dupree himself pointed to his pass-catching as a strength: “My pass catching is good,” Dupree told reporters after a home win over the Purdue Boilermakers last season. “My hands are certified.”
Beyond the numbers, Dupree delivered a shot in the arm, racking up seven explosive runs (10+ yards) in limited carries behind Tawee Walker. He was asked to pass block 10 times last season and didn’t allow a single pressure, a sign he’s capable of staying on the field in high-leverage moments and being a true third-down option for the Badgers' offense.
It’s worth noting that Grimes’ scheme — with its emphasis on outside zone, play-action, and calculated edge runs — feels tailor-made for a slashing, all-purpose back like Dupree. His 158 total snaps last season were split between 79 as a runner and 63 as a receiver, giving Wisconsin a legitimate dual-threat option who can be deployed all over the formation.
But here’s the reality heading into 2025: while Dupree’s role is expanding, the backfield won’t be his alone. Fellow second-year running back Dilin Jones has emerged as a strong contender for the top billing. Jones handled most of the No. 1 reps during spring practice and positioned himself as the possible lead back. That’s not a knock on Dupree; he was injured. If anything, it speaks to the depth Wisconsin has been building.
And realistically, at 5-foot-10 and 212 pounds, Dupree likely isn’t best suited for a full bell-cow workload — pairing him with a complementary piece like Jones might be the smartest way to unlock his full potential.
What it does mean is this: Dupree’s impact may not be measured strictly in volume, but in how the Badgers scheme to unlock his versatility. Expect him to be one of the most important chess pieces on the board for Grimes as a player whose blend of vision, burst, and receiving chops gives this new look offense a layer it simply hasn’t had the past two seasons.
If his freshman year was any indication, Dupree's best days are ahead of him. And in an offense designed to get playmakers in space, that could be a really good thing for Wisconsin this season and into the future.
Can Dilin Jones lead the Wisconsin backfield?
In a sport that's become obsessed with transfer portal moves and instant-impact additions, sometimes the biggest offseason wins come from within. And for Wisconsin, keeping Dilin Jones on the roster could end up being as valuable as any outside pickup they didn’t have to make.