Former Wisconsin running back Jalen Berger officially enters the transfer portal

Former Wisconsin running back Jalen Berger has officially entered the transfer portal, according to a source.

The former U.S. Army All-American was recently dismissed from the Badger football program by Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst.

Berger is the third running back to leave Wisconsin since Aug. 31.

The puzzling absence of Jalen Berger

Berger played in just three of Wisconsin’s games — against Eastern Michigan, Notre Dame, and Michigan. In those appearances, the running back totaled 24 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown.

All season long, Berger was waiting for an extended opportunity that never came. When asked about it publicly, he continually stated that he was simply waiting for his number to be called.

It wasn’t — and now it won’t be again for the Badgers. However, the reasons remain unclear, as Chryst elected to deflect instead of answering questions about Berger. The only thing that is certain is that Jalen Berger won’t be playing for Wisconsin anymore.

Former Top 100 recruit

Berger was highly rated coming out of prestigious Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, New Jersey) and ranked as a top 100 overall prospect in America.

He boasted 31 scholarship offers when he was coming out of high school. The six-foot, 200-pound tailback chose Wisconsin over LSU, Penn State, Rutgers, and UCLA.

When he chose Wisconsin, he did so on national TV at halftime of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.

While at Don Bosco, Berger played three different positions: starting out as a running back, then moving to a wide receiver/slot receiver role.

“You can’t keep him in one area, because he’s too valuable,” said Don Bosco offensive coordinator Iggy Urbina. “He really is a unique talent.”

In 2019, he hauled in 25 passes for 321 receiving yards and three touchdown catches. The dynamic tailback also ran for 897 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.

Don Bosco is one of the more storied high school football programs in the state of New Jersey. They had a decade of incredible dominance under head coach Greg Toal from 2000-2009. During that time span, the Ironmen went 111-6. A few of the more famous football alumni to come through Don Bosco have been Jabrill Peppers (he later transferred to Paramus Catholic) and former Notre Dame running back Ryan Grant.

John Settle is now at Kentucky

It will be interesting to see where Berger ends up.

His former running back coach at Wisconsin, John Settle, is now in the same position for the Kentucky Wildcats. Settle spent 11 years at Wisconsin, the most recent stint was as the running backs coach from 2015-2021. He also coached the running backs in Madison from 2006-2010.

On3’s Stephen Samra also contributed to this report.