Wisconsin Football: Predicting Running Back Stats

Bradrick Shaw

Rushing yards: 200

Rushing touchdowns: 2

Shaw is still recovering from the injury that sidelined him for most of last year. He’s not going to be ready for full contact until close to the start of the season. Once he gets to that point, getting back up to game speed will take a while. With the bevy of backs in front of him hopefully contributing well, it’s not likely he’ll be rushed back at all. When he’s finally at 100% his carries will still be infrequent unless he starts playing like he did two years ago.

Shaw had a lot of hype around him heading into last year. He was the starter but was quickly overtaken by Taylor’s dominant play. He battled smaller injuries before tearing his ACL.

Shaw’s running style is fun to watch. He’s big and takes long strides, and he’s a cut-and-go type of back. He’s able to pick up chunks of yards in a hurry. If Shaw would be healthy to start the season he would clearly be the number two back on the roster. He’s talented enough to push for 1,000 yards even with Taylor on the team. He just hasn’t been able to shed off the bad luck.

Perhaps late in the season, he will be back to full strength, but I suspect the distribution of carries will be decided by then. Shaw won’t see enough carries to really put up staggering numbers. In 2019 when James is gone Shaw will probably be in line for more snaps and can work to finish his career strong.