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On Thursday morning, Wisconsin Badgers head coach Paul Chryst announced that starting running back Chez Mellusi will miss the rest of the season with a leg/knee injury that he suffered during UW’s win over Rutgers last weekend.
Paul Chryst didn't specifically say what RB Chez Mellusi's season-ending injury was, but he did say this about his return: "It’s going to be one of those where it won’t be spring ball." Wisconsin's top 3 running backs now could be Braelon Allen, Julius Davis and Brady Schipper.
— Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) November 11, 2021
This is another big blow to a running back’s room that has now lost their top-three running backs from the Game 1 depth chart in Mellusi (out for year), Jalen Berger (dismissed from team, entered transfer portal) and Isaac Guerendo (out for year).
While Chryst didn’t say what exactly Mellusi’s injury is, the fact that he noted that Mellusi won’t be back in time for spring practice makes one think it’s a serious knee injury that will take time to rehab.
The depth chart in the backfield for the game against Northwestern this Saturday will be freshman Braelon Allen at the top, presumably followed by Julius Davis and Brady Schipper. Freshmen Jackson Acker and Grover Bortolotti will also presumably need to keep their heads on a swivel for carries. In an extremely Wisconsin Move, fullback John Chenal will most likely also get more work toting the rock. Zach Heilprin noted on Twitter that every player who will potentially get a carry this weekend is from Wisconsin.
On the year, Mellusi rushed for 815 yards on 173 carries (4.7 ypc) and scored five touchdowns. He also caught seven passes for 66 yards. We wish Mellusi well in his recovery and hope to see him on the field again as soon as possible.