First-year Wisconsin Badgers running back coach Jayden Everett has a major task this upcoming football season: developing a running game that was almost non-existent last season. In 2025, Wisconsin running backs ran for only 1,046 rushing yards, with Darrion Dupree leading the team with 363 of those yards. That’s simply not going to get it done if this offense wants to improve.
This offseason has seen two running backs, Dilin Jones and Cade Yacamelli, depart for new schools. However, the Badgers added four transfers: Abu Sama, Bryan Jackson II, Julius Pope, and Nate Palmer. In addition, Wisconsin returns Darrion Dupree and Gideon Ituka, while adding high school recruit Qwantavius Wiggins.
Abu Sama projects to be the Wisconsin Badgers' starting running back.
Sama comes to Madison after three productive years at Iowa State, where he ran for 1,933 yards and 13 touchdowns as a Cyclone. At Iowa State, Sama had a knack for busting open a long-running play. In Sama’s best game as a Cyclone, the then-freshman ran for 276 yards against 19th-ranked Kansas State back on November 23, 2023, bursting onto the national scene by ripping off a game-opening 71-yard touchdown.
Back on May 5th, Badger247’s Jon McNamara listed Sama as the number one starter, in front of both Jackson II and Dupree. One reason for that has been Sama's work ethic on “improving polish at the position.” Everett has come away impressed with Sama’s work on becoming a more downhill runner and collecting more of what he calls “the hard yards”.
For a program that considers itself “Running Back U”, the Wisconsin Badgers were anything but in 2025. With a new man in charge in Jayden Everett, that position hopes to improve next season. If Sama can showcase any of the talent and home-run rushing ability at Wisconsin that he showed at Iowa State, the Badgers will be in good shape.
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