Former Clemson Tigers Running Back Steps Away From Football

One of the past Clemson Tigers players has decided to step away from the sport of football.

Clemson running back Chez Mellusi(27) runs during football practice in Clemson, S.C. Monday, March 22, 2021 / Ken Ruinard / staff via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Clemson Tigers have completely turned their season around following their opening loss to Georgia that had just about everyone in the national media taking shots at the state of the program and what could be accomplished this year.

Maligned quarterback Cade Klubnik and head coach Dabo Swinney stuck the course, and it has paid off in a major way with Clemson looking like a favorite to reach the ACC Championship Game after the regular season.

As the Tigers continue to go through their schedule, highlighted by a massive matchup against Florida State on Saturday in a contest they can't afford to lose, one of the program's former players and current Wisconsin running back has decided to step away from football.

Per Colten Bartholomew of Badger Extra, Chez Mellusi "is stepping away from the program to continue rehabbing injuries that prevented him from playing to his expectation."

The sixth-year senior entered his name in the transfer portal after the 2020 season with the Tigers.

He had totaled 427 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 71 carries, adding 38 more yards and a score on five catches across his 21 games with Clemson in two years.

Mellusi was a four-star recruit out of high school, committing to the Tigers as part of their 2019 class and one of the best players they landed in that cycle.

With Wisconsin, he has been much more productive with 1,826 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns across his four seasons in Madison, but he's also been dealing with major injuries during this time as well.

Mellusi tore his ACL in 2021 that caused him to miss the final four games of that campaign. He then broke his arm the following year that limited him to nine contests. That culminated in suffering a broken leg last season just four games in.

Still, even after all those injuries, Mellusi was the No. 1 guy in the Badgers' crowded backfield by getting 56 carries that resulted in 232 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

In a statement from Wisconsin that was shared by Bartholomew, it read, "He's endured many injuries and has worked extremely hard to be able to play this year, but his body hasn't responded the way he expected. We're here to support Chez in any way we can and hope he'll be back on the football field again one day."

Bartholomew also shared that a spokesperson said "the door isn't closed for Mellusi to return to the team this season once he's healthy," but he is also "not rehabbing at the team facility."