Wisconsin Badgers 2018 Spring Football Preview: Running Back

[Da-news-now]

Whether or not the weather will cooperate, the Wisconsin Badgers have rung Spring in with a few practices to date. Along with that we continue to dive in to every position and give you the need-to-know information for the 2018 version of the Badgers. Previous Previews: Quarterback | Cornerback | Offensive Line | Defensive Line | Wide Receiver | Inside Linebacker | Outside Linebacker | Up today is...

Source

Continue reading...

 

[TW]

Hopefully Nakia Watson will red-shirt. He's going to be a solid RB, but it's a log jam ahead of him this year. Give him that year to become a polished back during practice, and he'll be ready to roll next year, when we actually will need another back. to keep the stable solid.

I think James is going to push Taylor hard for the starting spot, believe it or not. He has the tools, just needs to stay healthy long enough to make an impression.

In the end, Taylor's skills will win the job, but James will get plenty of playing time, as well as Groshek. Behind these three, there's even more talent, and when it all shakes out, we should have the position covered well.

One thing though. When the season starts, Taylor will once again have proven he's one of the top 5 RBs in the nation, and if he's out of the lineup, we won't be much more than half the team in the running game than we are with him. He's that darned good!

 

[57packer]

It's a deep enough group that Watson won't likely be needed, but injuries happen quickly and often at RB. Still, if Watson is top-3 he should play. A red-shirt would be great, but if he's really good, I'd just as soon have him play right away. RBs pretty much know about the whole shelf-life and over-use issues and they leave as soon as they can if they are good enough. He could red-shirt, then break out in 2019 as Taylor's back-up, then start in 2020 and if he's really good, he'll leave and we only got 2 years out of him. Hopefully he needs some seasoning and UW gets a full 3 years of his talent after a red-shirt.

 

[TW]

It's a deep enough group that Watson won't likely be needed, but injuries happen quickly and often at RB. Still, if Watson is top-3 he should play. A red-shirt would be great, but if he's really good, I'd just as soon have him play right away. RBs pretty much know about the whole shelf-life and over-use issues and they leave as soon as they can if they are good enough. He could red-shirt, then break out in 2019 as Taylor's back-up, then start in 2020 and if he's really good, he'll leave and we only got 2 years out of him. Hopefully he needs some seasoning and UW gets a full 3 years of his talent after a red-shirt.

I watched every one of his games this year in HS (Watson). He does need some work. His blocking is only fair at best, and he needs to work on positioning his hands for passes. He also needs to run lower, behind his pads. A little too upright for my way of thinking.

He's also one of these kids that will gain a lot of strength in the weight room, and with the proper diet. A little soft around the middle, even though it don't look that way.

I truly believe the red-shirt year will turn him into a challenger for the starting job in two years. He could become that good, but is a potential project with a real high side. I believe that's why he was ranked a little low. A lot of teams don't have the team depth to be patient in developing their RBs. Wisconsin is.