Badger of Honor
Fansided

Wisconsin Football: Berger picked to ‘Shock the College Football World’

By Christian Borman

Wisconsin's Jalen Berger (8) stiff-arms Indiana's Tiawan Mullen (3) on Saturday, December 5, 2020, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis. Indiana won the game, 14-6.Mjs Usat Wisconsin Vs Indiana Football 120520 2682 Ttm
Wisconsin's Jalen Berger (8) stiff-arms Indiana's Tiawan Mullen (3) on Saturday, December 5, 2020, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis. Indiana won the game, 14-6.Mjs Usat Wisconsin Vs Indiana Football 120520 2682 Ttm /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Wisconsin football team will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing 2020 campaign. Freshman running back Jalen Berger will be a big part of that.

Last season, as a true freshman, Berger played in four games for the Wisconsin football team, running for 301 yards on 60 attempts, yielding a 5.0 yard per carry average and a pair of touchdowns. Berger also caught two passes out of the backfield, and both resulted in touchdowns.

Berger showed glimpses of what he can do, but he also had to share carries with Nakia Watson, Garrett Groshek, and Isaac Guerendo last season. Watson and Groshek are both moving on going into next season, leaving Berger as the top horse in the stable heading into the 2021 season.

The offense has a nice group of young core skill players like Berger, Graham Mertz, and Chimere Dike, but also some stud offensive linemen as well. A lot of Badger fans are excited about the future of this Wisconsin football team.

Apparently, Wisconsin fans aren’t the only ones who think Berger is going to have a big year next season.

BleacherReport’s Brad Shepard  recently named Berger as one of the ’10 Players Set to Shock the College Football World in 2021.’

In the article, Shepard points out that the Badgers are losing their running backs coach John Settle, but that Berger could still be in line for a huge 2021 season.

"Losing Settle is no small deal because of his pedigree of developing elite runners, but it shouldn’t stunt Berger’s growth.Now that he has a year in the system, it’s time for Badgers coach Paul Chryst to trust him a little more. A year ago, despite the team’s offensive struggles, Berger never had more than 15 carries in a game.The second-year player is poised to become the next great Wisconsin running back if they just let him. The safe bet is he will shoulder much of the load in the running game this year, and stat-packing games will follow as the Badgers offense improves."

A Jalen Berger breakout performance is exactly what Badger fans are hoping to see. Hopefully, a year without disruptions from covid and another year in the system will allow Berger to be the next great running back to come out of RBU.