Addressing the possibility of Braelon Allen being underused in new offense at Wisconsin

There are questions if Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen will be underused in the new Badgers’ offense in 2023.

New head coach Luke Fickell assembled a staff that would emulate a heavy dose of throwing the football. Offensive coordinator Phil Longo can really dial it up.

However, On3’s J.D. PicKell said that wouldn’t be the case. Allen is too talented not to use.

“This is a very very good question because what Wisconsin has been historically can be summed up in a couple of objects: neck rolls and dirt, three yards in a cloud of dust,” PicKell said on The Hard Count. “Braelon Allen is one of the best backs in the country. I mean, the dude looks like he was developed in a lab. He looks like one of the Avengers, specimen of a back. Did a lot of good things for Wisconsin so far.

“The branding around Wisconsin I think is interesting right now because everyone is assuming that it’s going to be air-raid in the sense that they’re going to throw the ball 60 times a game. Just because they’re gonna throw the football more, I don’t think implies they’re not still going to be balanced.” 

At this point, it’d be a crime to not use Braelon Allen as a focal point of the offense.

“I’d be wildly surprised if Braelon Allen still is an integral part of the offense and is not a guy that’s getting, you know, 20 carries or so again,” PicKell said. “Like you still better feed Braelon Allen, he is one of your best players. So we’d be surprised if that were the case. Do not anticipate that happening.”

Allen had back-to-back seasons over 1,000 yards with the Badgers. Last season, he had 230 carries for 1,242 yards, 11 touchdowns, 5.4 yards per carry, 13 catches and 104 receiving yards.

Throughout the course of his career, Allen has 416 carries, 2,510 yards, 23 touchdowns, six yards per carry, 21 catches and 143 receiving yards.

As a member of the Class of 2021, Allen was a four-star recruit out of Fond Du Lac (Wis.) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 20 linebacker in the class (before switching to offense in college) and the No. 148 overall prospect in the class.