How One Wisconsin Football RB Could Takeover With Impressive 2025-26 Season

While Jones and Dupree saw a growing amount of carries this past season, Ituka remains to be the man who has not proven himself on the field. However, the powerful running back could be the thunder that the Wisconsin football staff needs to have running out of the backfield.

How Could Gideon Ituka Carve Out a Significant Role Within the Wisconsin Football Offense?

For Ituka, the road to the field is a difficult one given the talent ahead of him and the dynamics that other Badgers running backs bring to the game. Jones is a shifty, elusive back that can drop his shoulder when he needs to which makes for a versatile athlete. Dupree, on the other hand, is a complete back that favors cutting up-field with a quick move and offers a strong attack in the receiving game as well.

Cade Yacamelli is also a do-it-all kind of running back who is expected to carry the football a significant amount this upcoming season. In order to carve out his own carries, Ituka will have to hone in his skills in a specific area on the field.

Gideon Ituka: A Bruising Change of Pace?

While Jones is an accomplished running back and the player many analysts feel could burst on the scene this upcoming season, the elusive runner offers a different take on the position. At 5-feet-9-inches, and roughly 235-pounds, Ituka brings power, physicality, and a low-to-the-ground running style that makes for a difficult tackle. Ituka is a bowling ball once top speed is reached and bringing down the runner with an arm tackle is not an option.

At 5-feet-10-inches, and roughly 205-pounds, Dupree does not have the same level of mass that Ituka possesses. Dupree is still a capable runner, but the power that Ituka brings in each carry allows for a consistent gain of positive yards despite being in some sticky situations. Dupree took on the majority of the carries between the trio last season which could change if Ituka manages to secure the power run snaps.

The real question is how can Ituka do such a thing especially with Acker still potentially in the picture, and the answer lies in much of what the running back is already doing. Ituka has been a monster in the weight room since joining the Wisconsin football program and glimpses of that were seen during the recent “squat fest” event the staff holds each year.