Wisconsin Football: Jalen Berger Needs More Snaps Moving Forward
By Paul Bretl
During his true freshman season, running back Jalen Berger would miss some time, but by season’s end, he was the leading rusher on this Wisconsin Football team with 301 rushing yards, and he also averaged a team-best among running backs 5.0 yards per rush, according to PFF ($$).
Although Wisconsin did add Clemson transfer Chez Mallusi to the team prior to the 2021 season, Berger, who was listed as RB2 on the depth chart, was still expected to play a significant role within the offense. However, at least through the first three games of the season, that just hasn’t been the case.
In the Badgers’ season opener against Penn State, Berger was not on the field for any of the team’s snaps the entire game. In fact, at one point, he was seen standing off to the side and away from his teammates.
Head Coach Paul Chryst wouldn’t disclose the reason why Berger didn’t see any snaps that game, other than saying that he liked what Mallusi and Isaac Guerendo were doing. While both Mallusi and Guerendo did find success on the ground against the Nittany Lions, that’s also not the real reason why Berger didn’t see any snaps–and we will likely never know the truth.
"“The big thing was Chez obviously got the start. Isaac was next back in. Kind of knew that going into the game,” Chryst said via Badger247. “I thought Chez did a lot of good. Same with Isaac. I think it got to be how they were playing. Chez, I think got a decent amount of carries. Isaac, we thought had more in him, too. I think in the end it’s because of what Chez and Isaac were doing.”"
In Week 2, things appeared to be getting back on track against Eastern Michigan when Berger saw his magic number of 15 carries — an amount that he’s hit right on the dot in all but one game over his career — where he totaled 62 yards on the ground along with a touchdown.
"“I’m just waiting for my number to be called,” Berger said after the Week 2 win via the La Crosse Tribune. “I mean, it’s in the past now and I’m just prepared to move forward and focus on next week.”"
But for whatever reason, against Notre Dame, we were all once again left scratching our heads when it came to Berger’s playing time. Despite the offense’s inability to move the football, Berger was on the field for only ten total snaps, recording one carry for eight yards and a reception for eight yards.
Jalen Berger’s lack of playing time for the Wisconsin football team remains a mystery.
The current usage of Berger through these first three games of the season is quite baffling, to say the least. When given the opportunity to carry the ball, he has looked good, making decisive cuts, looking explosive, and running smoothly with the ball in his hands.
Also, it’s not as if this Wisconsin offense is exactly lighting up the scoreboard without him — they’ve been quite bad — so why wouldn’t Chryst give one of his more versatile playmakers more opportunities?
Again, that’s a question that we will likely never know the real answer to, but hopefully, this is something that changes over the remainder of the season. It’s clear that Mallusi is RB1, and there is nothing wrong with that, but Berger should at least be in the ballpark when it comes to touches each game–instead, he has been forgotten about, and nobody knows why.