Wisconsin Football Makes Top 3 for Oregon Transfer RB

With Jonathan Taylor in the NFL, we didn’t see the same dominant and explosive running game from the Wisconsin football team this past season. After being one of the more productive rushing teams in college football in previous years, in 2020, they ranked 81st in yards per carry at 3.9 and 64th in rushing yards per game with 164.

With that said, we saw plenty of promise from then true freshman Jalen Berger. In four games, he had 60 rushing attempts and averaged five yards per carry with two touchdowns. But they could still use more experienced depth.

While the Badgers also have Isaac Guerendo returning and three incoming freshmen, Nakia Watson has entered the transfer portal, and Garrett Groshek has played his final snaps at Wisconsin. So in an attempt to bolster the running back room, the Badgers have been pursuing Oregon transfer Cyrus Habibi-Likio, who recently announced that Wisconsin was in his top-3.

For the last three seasons, Habibi-Likio has been part of Oregon’s three-headed monster out of the backfield, primarily being used as the short-yardage and goal-line option at 6’1″ — 215 pounds. On 121 career rushing attempts, Habibi-Likio has 21 rushing touchdowns and has converted 41 first downs. Also, over half of his career rushing yards have come after contact, according to Pro Football Focus ($).

His best season came in 2019 when he totaled 337 rushing yards on four yards per carry with 10 touchdowns.  And while not used often in the passing game, Habibi-Likio has caught all 14 of his targets over his career and is averaging 8.1 yards per catch.

Joining the Badgers in pursuit of the former Oregon running back is Cal and Boise State. As Asher Lowe of Badgers Wire points out, Habibi Likio has connections to both. He grew up near Cal’s campus, and Oregon’s former defensive coordinator is now the head coach at Boise State.

We will have to see if the allure of playing in the Big Ten and running behind a stout Wisconsin offensive line will be enough to get Habibi-Likio to commit to the Badgers over the more familiar Cal and Boise State. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Update: Cyrus Habibi-Likio has committed to Boise State.