Wisconsin’s NFL preseason opened with a little bit of everything for Badger fans: a touchdown burst from Braelon Allen, a splash play from Mason Reiger, a quiet but useful night for Vinny Anthony II, and a brief debut for Ricardo Hallman.
The common thread was simple enough. All four got limited chances. All four still managed to flash something worth noting.
Allen made the loudest statement of the group. The New York Jets running back got only three sets of downs, but he turned one of his first three carries into a 31-yard touchdown after taking an inside-zone handoff, bouncing it outside and outrunning the pack to the end zone.
He added one more carry for a yard after that and finished with 44 total yards. That was 28 more than Jets starter Breece Hall, who had 16. Allen still has work to do to win steady reps in the backfield, but this was the kind of night that adds real weight to the buzz he’s built in training camp.
Reiger, meanwhile, kept doing what he has been doing since rookie minicamp: making noise whenever he gets a chance. His name had cooled off a bit during camp, but the preseason gave him a stage again, and he made it count with two total tackles and a sack in very limited snaps.
For a player who keeps finding ways to show up in small samples, that’s the whole point. Reiger didn’t need a long runway to leave a mark.
Anthony’s night was more frustrating than flashy, though he still found a way to help himself. The former Wisconsin receiver, who went undrafted last spring, has drawn plenty of attention in camp as a 6-foot gadget weapon. In his first preseason action, he handled three kick returns for 90 yards, including one that went 32 yards.
Offensively, he didn’t get much room to work. Anthony caught one of his three targets for five yards, and the quarterback play around him was rough - the group combined for 134 yards, two interceptions and zero touchdowns. Still, Anthony did enough to keep making his case for a 53-man roster spot.
Hallman’s first NFL appearance with the Denver Broncos was the shortest of the bunch. Signed not too long ago, the former Wisconsin defensive back got just one tackle in his limited work. There wasn’t much to pull from the outing beyond that, but he held his own in the reps he received.
For Wisconsin fans, it was a reminder that even after one of the worst seasons in modern program history, the Badgers are still sending capable players into the NFL.
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