The middle of June often contains two things for the diehard college football fan: recruiting updates and preseason prediction lists.
It is a sport unlike the NFL where the Super Bowl goes into the combine, which goes into free agency, then the draft, then OTAs, and so on. College football’s only time at the top of the news cycle is when permanent changes are made to the structure of the sport, which these days can be counted on with some regularity.
Before the season is up and running, 247Sports took a stab at the top 25 Heisman contenders entering the 2023 season. Included in that list: Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen at No. 24.
Here is what the author had to say:
Overshadowed at times by big-name running backs in the Big Ten, Allen is as productive as any and comes off back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons. With new offensive coordinator Phil Longo on campus, he could reach another level this year.
I think if you were to poll Badger fans, most would first consider quarterback Tanner Mordecai as the primary Heisman contender if all goes well during the season. That’s where I fall too, as Jonathan Taylor didn’t even get an invite to New York during his incredible 2019 season.
But there is something there with Braelon Allen being overlooked nationally. He had a down 2022 season along with the rest of the Badger offense but should enter the season fully healthy and will be the focal point of the unit as it undergoes an identity shift under Phil Longo.
The biggest complicating factor in this story is how involved Chez Mellusi will be in the ground game. If Allen played a season fully healthy with a Taylor-type workload he could very well end up a Heisman finalist.
Unfortunately for these purposes, only one non-quarterback has won the award since 2016 and only one running back (Derrick Henry in 2015) has won it since 2010. And this is all without mentioning the fact Wisconsin would assuredly have to be a College Football Playoff team for Allen to be in the Heisman conversation.
Nevertheless, keep an eye on how national pundits view Allen entering the season. My guess is he’s overlooked and proves a lot of people wrong as the season kicks off.