Wisconsin’s appearance in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 against Auburn will be Melvin Gordon’s final game as a Badger.
Gordon announced Wednesday morning on the Dan Patrick Show that he will indeed leave Wisconsin after this season and enter the 2015 NFL Draft.
Dan – "So that's official…you're coming out (for the draft)…playing in the Outback Bowl and going to the Heisman?"…Melvin Gordon "Yep"
— Paul Pabst (@PaulPabst) December 10, 2014
Wednesday’s decision comes as no surprise as the redshirt junior running back nearly left after last season for the draft and only improved his stock this season. Gordon leads the nation in rushing (2,336) and touchdowns (26).
A Heisman finalist, Gordon also became the quickest player to 2,000 yards in a season, doing so on 241 attempts, in addition to breaking former Badger Ron Dayne’s Big Ten single-season rushing record.
Gordon’s season was highlighted by his performance in Wisconsin’s win over Nebraska at Camp Randall on Nov. 15 when he broke the FBS record for rushing yards in a game with 408 yards on just 25 carries (16.3 average). Although Gordon’s record fell one week later, he reached the 408-yard mark in only three quarters of play while scoring four touchdowns.
The Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year is considered to be one of the best running backs in this year’s draft and could be the first one selected. Many experts consider him to be a first round pick.
The full interview from the Dan Patrick Show is below:
