Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon is making a legitimate push for a 2,000-yard season, and among non-quarterbacks, he's as strong a contender for the Heisman Trophy as anyone.
The fourth-year junior is also drawing praise from NFL scouts, including one veteran executive who said Gordon runs "a little bit like Shady McCoy, and (Saturday's game against Nebraska) will be a good test for him," according to NFL Media's Albert Breer.
Gordon has 1,501 yards with three regular-season games remaining. With the possibility of a Big Ten Championship Game appearance, plus a bowl game, Gordon should reach 2,000 yards -- a feat accomplished only five times in Big Ten history -- if he remains on his current pace. Former Badgers star Ron Dayne holds the school record at 2,109 yards. McCoy ranks sixth in the NFL in rushing at 71.2 yards per game for the Philadelphia Eagles. Both have an elusive style, although McCoy was far more accomplished as a pass-catcher coming out of Pittsburgh in 2008.
"(Gordon) doesn't have a whole lot left to prove," an AFC college scouting director told Breer. "It's just a big game to show up in, with a lot on the line, against a tough, fast, physical defense."
Gordon has not indicated whether he will enter the 2015 NFL Draft, and has until a mid-January deadline to do so. The Wisconsin-Nebraska game will showcase two of the college game's top rushers in Gordon and the Cornhuskers' Ameer Abdullah.
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