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A long lineage of modern-era Wisconsin running backs have preceded running back Melvin Gordon -- from Brent Moss and Terrell Fletcher in the early-to-mid 1990s, up through Ron Dayne and Michael Bennett at the turn of the millennium, and recently with John Clay, Montee Ball and James White.
With all the success collegiately Badgers running backs, however, their results in the NFL have been mixed, and at times, underwhelming.
Enter Gordon -- who combined talent with work ethic to become the most dynamic running back in the history of Wisconsin Badgers football, and now is the best running back prospect from the program to go to the next level.
Gordon capped off his collegiate career with a historic 2014 season, rushing for 200-plus yards six times -- including breaking the FBS single-game record with 408 yards against Nebraska, and came within 42 yards short of Barry Sanders' FBS single-season record for rushing yards in a season.
Now, he's projected to be a first-round draft pick and make an impact for whoever makes the call to the Kenosha, Wis. native.
Tale of the tape
| Stat | Measurements (from NFL.com) |
|---|---|
| Ht. | 6'1 |
| Wt. | 215 lbs |
| Arms | 32 3/8 |
| Hands | 9 3/4" |
Career stats
(Rushing stats from UWBadgers.com; receiving stats from ESPN.com)
| Carries | Yards | Yards Per Carry | TDs | Receptions | Yards | Yards per Catch | TDs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 20 | 98 | 4.9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 62 | 621 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 65 | 32.5 | 1 |
| 2013 | 206 | 1609 | 7.8 | 12 | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 343 | 2587 | 7.5 | 29 | 19 | 153 | 8.1 | 3 |
| Totals: | 631 | 4915 | 7.8 | 45 | 22 | 228 | 10.0 | 4 |
Awards
NFL combine results
| 40-yard Dash | Bench Press | Vertical Jump | Broad Jump | 20-yard Shuttle | 60-yard Shuttle | 3-cone Drill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.52 sec | 19 reps | 35" | 126" | 4.07 sec | 11.00 sec | 7.04 sec |
*Gordon came in second in entire Combine participants in 60-yard shuttle, second for running backs in the 20-yard shuttle, third for running backs for broad jump and fifth for running backs in 40-yard dash
Strengths
From B5Q's scouting report of Gordon for a March 2015 Field Gulls article:
Melvin Gordon possesses a potent combination of power, speed, vision and balance. Gordon can run between the tackles but break to the outside if needed. He showcased his lateral quickness and explosion in short areas with fantastic times in the 20- and 60-yard shuttle at the NFL Combine. He has the strength to break arm tackles, along with agility and balance to keep plays going down the field.
If teams worry about him not running somewhere in the 4.4s, he led the FBS with 17 runs of 40-plus yards and 10 runs of 50-plus -- along with runs of 10-plus (60), 20-plus (35) and 30-plus (21) yards. All this while facing defenses that routinely stacked the box with eight to nine defenders.
Weaknesses
From B5Q's scouting report of Gordon for a March 2015 Field Gulls article:
He fumbled more in 2014, which is a concern. NFL.com stated he was "stuffed" (runs resulting in zero or negative yards) on 19.2 percent of his carries, but when facing defenses stacking the box to contain a one-dimensional offense that lacked a passing game (116th in FBS), this is a skewed stat.
Many still question his pass protection and receiving skills. He improved greatly in both from 2014 than 2013 (one of the reasons why he came back for his junior year) though could still add some seasoning due to less experience. He caught 19 receptions and three touchdowns in 2014, the latter which made up 20 percent of the Badgers' passing total.