MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin running back Chez Mellusi, the team’s leading rusher, is stepping away from the program as he continues to rehab from injuries in an effort to be fully healthy, according to a statement from the program.
“We want to let people know that Chez is going to be stepping away from the team for now and working to get his body healthy,” the statement read. “He’s endured many injuries and has worked extremely hard to be able to play this year, but his body hasn’t responded the way he expected. We’re here to support Chez in any way we can and hope he’ll be back on the football field again one day.”
A team spokesperson said the Badgers aren’t ruling him out for the entire season.
Mellusi, who transferred to Wisconsin from Clemson before the 2021 season, has played in 26 career games for the Badgers but battled injuries every season. From 2021 to ’23, he missed 17 games. Mellusi tore the ACL in his left knee against Rutgers in 2021 and missed the last four games. He was sidelined for a stretch in 2022 with a broken right wrist sustained against Northwestern. He suffered another season-ending injury in 2023 in Week 4 against Purdue when he fractured his left fibula and dislocated his ankle, which he said in the spring required “a full ankle reconstruction.”
Mellusi opted to use his sixth year of eligibility to return this season and was ahead of schedule as a full participant during spring practices. He leads the Badgers with 56 rushes for 232 yards and three touchdowns. Mellusi was averaging 4.1 yards per carry, down from 6 yards per carry in four games last season. During his Wisconsin career, he has rushed for 1,827 yards and 14 touchdowns.
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Wisconsin’s running back depth chart has six scholarship players remaining. Oklahoma transfer Tawee Walker figures to handle an increased workload, while Cade Yacamelli, Jackson Acker and true freshmen Darrion Dupree and Dilin Jones could also be potential options. Yacamelli ranks second on the team with 153 yards rushing. Walker has 147 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Dupree has 16 carries for 61 yards and earned two carries on Wisconsin’s second drive against USC last Saturday.
Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell said on Monday that he wanted to try to pare down the running back rotation to allow his best players to find more of a rhythm.
“We’ve got a little bit of a tough ride right now at the running back spot,” Fickell said. “Meaning, we’ve got a bunch of guys. And it’s probably one of the things that I am going to kind of not say impress, but put on the offense a little more to say look, I don’t know that you can play four and five running backs. We’ve got to focus in on hey, who’s going to be the one, who’s going to be the next guy and then who’s the spare?
“It doesn’t give them an opportunity to get into rhythms. Chez being one of those guys, Tawee being another one. So we’re going to have to figure it out. Nothing against Chez. Nothing saying, hey, he’s going to get 30 touches now. But what we need to find out is who can get hot and who with more opportunities are going to have a better chance for us. That’s what’s really kind of difficult. For Chez, for Tawee and even for some of the young guys.”
Wisconsin (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) hosts Purdue (1-3, 0-1) on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT at Camp Randall Stadium.
Photo: John Fisher / Getty Images
