Top ten Wisconsin football players of the season so far

1. RB Jonathan Taylor

Taylor is the nation’s second-leading rusher through four games with 628 yards. And it feels like he has yet to reach his peak.

I was very critical of the lack of touches he got against Iowa because I felt like right when he was starting to gain momentum and inch towards a breakout run he stopped getting consistent carries. He still finished with over 100 yards rushing, as he has in every game so far this year, but it didn’t feel like a great performance for him.

Maybe he just had most of his runs come too early in the game, or maybe we’re just getting accustomed to 100+ yards per game from Jonathan Taylor. Excellence is the standard for the true sophomore.

Taylor’s biggest flaw in his game was, and is, a concerning one. His fumbling issues have made themselves known this year again after he lost a fumble in each of the first two games of the year. He hasn’t lost the ball in the most recent two games but it’s pretty obvious he’s not getting carries late in the game because of the fear of fumbling.

There will come a time where either Taylor will figure it out or the coaching staff will play him through those fears. In either case, Taylor is only going to get more opportunities to add to his great numbers.

The bye week came at a great time for Taylor and the Badgers. He led the country in rushing attempts before the weekend. I suspect the game next weekend against Nebraska to be in hand early on and Taylor can save himself even more for a big game against Michigan the following weekend.

Taylor has been great this year and I know he’s only going to get better. There are still plenty of chances for him to improve his Heisman stock.

All stats courtesy of ESPN and sports reference.