Unexpected Player Quietly Starts Dominating College Football

Wisconsin running back Tawee Walker is flying under the radar, but has been putting up huge numbers over the past few weeks.

The Badgers are currently sitting at 5-2 going into a Saturday night game against third-ranked Penn State. The team got off to a very sluggish 2-2 start. That start included a blowout loss to Alabama and a blown opportunity against USC.

Then things slowly started to change. Running back Chez Mellusi stepped away from the team to deal with his injuries, Braedyn Locke started to get in a groove as QB1 after Tyler Van Dyke suffered a season-ending injury…..and Tawee Walker ascended to being one of the best players on the field.

Running back Tawee Walker has turned into a great player for the Wisconsin Badgers. (Photo by Ross Harried/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Tawee Walker has been putting up big numbers for the Badgers.

Chez Mellusi's last game for Wisconsin was against USC. Then he stepped away. Walker stepped up, and he's been on a run.

Below are his stats in his last three games:

• Purdue: 94 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and 4.9 yards per carry.
• Rutgers: 198 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and 8.3 yards per carry.
• Northwestern: 126 rushing yards and 5.5 yards per carry.

On the year, Walker has 565 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns. A total of 418 of those rushing yards and six of the rushing touchdowns came in the month of October after Mellusi stepped away from the team.

Tawee Walker has been on a great run since taking over as RB1 for the Wisconsin Badgers. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images)

Walker has put together one of the best October performances in all of college football, and yet, hardly anyone has noticed.

There are a couple of reasons for that. First, Wisconsin hasn't been in the national spotlight since getting blown out by Alabama. The team was an afterthought at 2-2, and for good reason. The team didn't deserve any attention.

Second, Walker started the season splitting reps with Mellusi. He didn't have the opportunity to dominate the backfield as the lone carrier being spotlighted.

Now, he does, and since taking over the role, he's averaged 139.3 yards per game and two rushing touchdowns a game. That's not just a good statline. That's an outstanding statline.

Tawee Walker has been dominating since becoming Wisconsin's starting RB. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images)

The question now is where can Walker go from here. Penn State is a very good team. The Nittany Lions have held teams to 12 or fewer points in four of the team's seven games this season. Can Walker continue his impressive run? Fans will find out Saturday night, but for right now, the man is dominating college football in the month of October - whether people are noticing or not. Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.