Wisconsin Football: Share Carries to Help Jonathan Taylor
Wisconsin Football fans are understandably excited about freshman sensation Jonathan Taylor. But the Badgers would be wise to carefully manage his workload
Wisconsin freshman Jonathan Taylor roared out of the blocks to begin his collegiate career. His hard running in the season opener against Utah State put fans and foes on notice.
Taylor backed it up a week later ripping off some long touchdown runs against Florida Atlantic.
With Bradrick Shaw missing the week two win over the Owls, Taylor claimed the top spot on the running back depth chart. He’s done nothing to lose that promotion since.
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Jonathan Taylor is easily Wisconsin’s leading rusher with 518 yards on 72 carries along with seven touchdowns. Forecasted out over a 12 game season, he’d finish with 1,554 yards on 216 carries and 21 touchdowns if kept that pace.
Taylor is 15th in the nation in rushing and his per game average (129.5) is best in the Big Ten and 10th in the country. Finally, his yards per carry average (7.19) is 14th in the NCAA.
But I contend Wisconsin needs to be careful not to overwork the freshman.
In fact, 2006 was the last time a freshman led Wisconsin in carries. PJ Hill had 311 carries (and 18 receptions) for 1,766 scrimmage yards and 16 touchdowns.
Granted, some of that is because Wisconsin always produces great RBs so they don’t have to rely on freshman.
While Shaw is working his way back to full fitness following injury. The Badgers should give Shaw more carries.
Shaw runs hard, but has just 31 attempts for 143 yards in three games. He scored the firs touchdown of the season but hasn’t found the end zone since.
Currently, Taylor has logged 72 of Wisconsin’s 178 carries. That’s 40.4 percent of all carries. I deducted seven from Alex Hornibrook because those are not by design.
Among just running backs, he has 72 of the 163 carries equalling 44.2 percent of Wisconsin RB rushing attempts.
Wisconsin’s toughest game is likely hosting Michigan on November 18th. The Big Ten title game looms just two weeks after that. They need Taylor fresh and strong for those games.
The Badgers face five teams in the bottom half of the Big Ten in rushing defense. This includes games against the two worst run defenses in Indiana and Illinois.
The point is, Wisconsin may not need Taylor to carry the load alone with some soft run defense upcoming. Give Shaw and Chris James some carries just to balance the workload a bit.
It would be smart to give opposing defensive coordinators something extra to think about. Namely, game planning not just for Taylor but the entire stable of Wisconsin backs.
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Taylor is a strong freshman but he’s still a freshman. He hasn’t endured the grind of the conference season yet. You don’t want him hitting a freshman wall of sorts right as the biggest games of the season arrive.