Wisconsin football recruiting: UW shows interest in Clemson transfer RB Chez Mellusi

While much of the focus in regards to the transfer portal recently has been on the men’s basketball team, the football team is still looking for another running back to finalize their backfield. According to Mike Farrell of Rivals, former Clemson RB Chez Mellusi and the Badgers have strong mutual interest in each other.

We reached out to Mellusi on Wednesday morning and he confirmed to us that Wisconsin has talked to him and offered him a scholarship. Farrell notes that “right now it is the Badgers that are the most aggressive and they are certainly attractive to running backs,” in his post so there is definitely some smoke here.

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Mellusi had been one of the backups to Travis Etienne at Clemson over the past two seasons and gained 427 yards on 71 carries (6.01 ypc) while scoring six times. He has also caught five passes for 38 yards and a touchdown.

The 5-foot-11 and 200 pound junior out of Naples, Fla. was in line to be in competition for the starting RB job at Clemson, now that Etienne moved on to the NFL, however 247 Sports notes that “Mellusi exited spring likely third on depth chart behind some combination of senior Lyn-J Dixon and sophomore Kobe Pace.”

Coming out of high school Mellusi was a Composite 4-star recruit and ranked as the No. 241 player and No. 14 RB in the nation. He chose the Tigers over Miami (Fla.) and Notre Dame and will have two years of eligibility remaining. He is an explosive back that can change direction well and would form a lovely duo with Jalen Berger in the Wisconsin backfield.