Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin, 6-0, 210, 4.55, JR … No program is better at churning out NFL running backs than the Badgers, and Gordon may be the best of the bunch showing great balance, acceleration and agility to go with great patience and instincts; 4^th-year junior redshirted in 2011 after a suffering a season-ending foot injury in the 3^rd game of the year; then shared snaps the following couple of seasons before taking over as the full-time starter this fall; still figures to finish his career with over 4,000 yards, including over 2,000 this fall; he’s also on pace to crush the NCAA all-time career average yards per rush mark; in fact, with just a few games to go this year, Gordon has averaged over 8 yards a pop in his three-plus years in Madison; unlike most of his Badger predecessors, though, Gordon isn’t particularly big or powerful and isn’t going to move the pile much; indeed, he looks more like a WR with a trim waist and slender hips and thighs; at the same time, though, that frame gives him plenty of swivel in his hips that allows him to plant and change direction on a dime, along with the acceleration to get to top speed in a flash; he’s also got tremendous vision and the ability to jump-cut to the secondary hole without losing much speed; he’s also got fine balance and body control and doesn’t go down easily, especially in space; the major concern about Gordon which could drop into the latter part of this year’s opening round is the fact that he is not a reliable pass-catcher out of the backfield with just 14 career receptions; he’s got inconsistent hands and gets limited route-running experience working in the very conservative Wisconsin offense; at the same time, as with most of the earlier Wisconsin RB prospects, there are concerns in the scouting community about the wear and tear as he has had at least 25 carries in 5 games this fall. Update: Gordon broke LaDainian Tomlinson’s all-time single game rushing record when he tore apart Nebraska for 408 yards and 4 TDs in just three quarters of play!

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