The Wisconsin running back room is deep and full of talent, with almost every back in the room having experience in college. Qwantavius "Fatboy" Wiggins, the lone freshman in the room, may have sensed a logjam and headed home to play for Georgia State instead.
This wasn't the reason given, and playing for his hometown Georgia State program was an option before he committed to Wisconsin, but when the Badgers signed top JUCO runner Julius Pope, it felt like Wiggins may have been the odd man out. Or at least was looking at a for sure redshirt this season. Georgia State will offer more immediate playing time.
COMMITTED & SIGNED 🔵⚪️🏈
— Qwantavius “Fatboy” Wiggins (@QWiggins08) May 30, 2026
The city raised me. Now it’s time to represent it.
100% committed to Georgia State University!
Thank you @Enrique__Davis, @DellMcGee, and the entire staff for believing in me. Atlanta, let’s make history!#NewAtlanta #BITN #BITN4Real #RBU #TheStateWay pic.twitter.com/T8DtSJH1WJ
Wisconsin has a loaded RB room and it may have cost them a signee
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Wiggins was a 3-star recruit from Fairburn, Georgia, and was the lone running back in the recruiting class until the Badgers signed Pope. However, with Pope being a JUCO player and a former 4-star recruit, the pathway to playing time felt hard to figure out.
It's already going to be full. The room features five running backs who have college snaps. Abu Sama III leads the group with nearly 2,000 career yards. There's USC transfer Bryan Jackson going into his junior year with over 300 yards. Or Nate Palmer from TCU, who is sitting on 164 career yards from scrimmage and 30 carries last year as a sophomore. Add in the two Wisconsin backs that stayed from last season, Gideon Ituka (259) and Darrion Dupree (680). That's a lot of backs to feed back there.
This isn't to even mention Pope is a former 4-star who signed with Arkansas as a freshmen but ended up at Northwest Mississippi Community College where he had nearly 100 carries.
The room is chalk full of players and all of them will still have eligibility next season. It's hard to figure out exactly where Wiggins would have factored in. He would have had to beat some of them out.
Wisconsin does love running backs by committee and Jeff Grimes will feature at least three on a consistent basis but there's six looking for reps. It will be interesting to see who emerges as the horses in the backfield and how that room explodes into the season.
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