Badgers: RB Chez Mellusi ahead of schedule in return from torn ACL

August 9, 2022
|In Badgers
|By Zach Heilprin

MADISON — When reporters spoke with Chez Mellusi in March, the Wisconsin running back said his goal in returning from a torn ACL was to be ready for the Sept. 3 season-opener against Illinois State. Yet, as the Badgers got fall camp going last week, there was the senior running as if he had never been injured.

“When I was telling you guys that, I was just saying it,” Mellusi said Tuesday with a smile. “When I actually got to play football, I was like, nah, this feels normal. I’m a full go, full participant in fall camp. Honestly, I’m in a good spot.”

The media has only seen one practice — Monday’s session without pads — to this point but Mellusi didn’t appear to be favoring his surgically repaired left knee at all. He was making the same decisive cuts that fans saw last year as he ran for 815 yards and five touchdowns before the injury at Rutgers in November.

Mellusi admitted that patience was the most difficult aspect of his rehab. His drive to get back was so great that the medical staff had to tell him to stop doing extra work above and beyond what they were putting him through.

“I wouldn’t say I surprised myself, because I worked hard enough to know I would be in this spot,” he said after practice. “But I actually had to do it to make sure I knew (I could).”

Wisconsin had shoulder pads on during Saturday’s practice and then went full pads for the first time Tuesday. Taking hits to his knee was another important milestone in his rehab.

“Honestly, it felt good. I kind of liked it,” Mellusi said. “I don’t know if we were supposed to be live (tackling), but it was kind of a mental block I had to get over and I’m glad I did.”

Fellow backfield mate Isaac Guerendo has also been involved in camp as he returns from a foot injury that ended his 2021 season in early October. Reporters saw what makes him special Monday on an inside run where he showed off his remarkable burst and speed through the hole. Pair a healthy Guerendo and Mellusi with sophomore star Braelon Allen and it gives Wisconsin’s coaches quite a few options to threaten a defense.

“I feel like everyone is so different,” Mellusi said of the three backs. “Everyone does something a little better than the others. I feel like all of us could go to other schools and play instantly. That’s something that you want to have on your team.”