Badgers running back Chez Mellusi discusses return from injury, resilience

put at that second table if anybody need Chase how good did that feel to get in the end zone with that run especially the way you did it yeah really did man I mean obviously like months of hard work and you know just you know just trusting myself and you know just knowing I'm going to come back stronger than I was before things been seem to be going your way early in the fourth quarter just when you saw that punt take that bounce Andover that how much of a lift was that for you guys in terms of just emotionally I mean football is a four quarter game obviously and we have to better but I mean special teams is a big part of you know what we do here you know that's you know we expect to do things like that so I was really happy for the special special team for sure why do you think this offense needs to be better I know you haven't seen the tape but just what your thoughts uh you know I think that we have to be a little bit more balanced you know I think we have to be better in areas that I think myself included you know like being better out of the back field I think uh pass Pro wise we did okay then didn't repeat us up too much but just's a bunch of different areas where I think we can do better you know the first game I think it's some first game Jitters for sure obviously you guys want to be an explosive offense weren't able to really see that today Qui Circle kind of mentioned they backed off quite a few times and was kind of intent on not letting that happen but when you as you're playing can you tell like this is a game we got to stay patient kind take those four five yard games definitely definitely I think you know they they came with a game plan and and and it was working for them you know we only had I think like two three drives coming out of I think two drives coming out in the first half so you know they their plan was I don't think to let us touch the ball very much so granted we had some long drives but like I said like you have to be okay with four or five yards you know they were they were stacking the Box against us a little bit CH it seemed like you know Run game was a big Focus they wer supposed to play more four five y do you kind ofu that into this game with the way that they were like with the way that they were playing defense what was kind of your guys as a running back yeah um the way that that was 100% expected you know those safeties play run first you know watching film all week you know those guys they don't really obviously they play the pass but they react to the run like they're they're downhill fast so you got to be okay with those four five expect contact second level pretty fast did you come into this game feeling like it was just any other game or after the injury for you personally was this like mentally yeah yeah I mean yeah I mean I wouldn't say it was just like other game like I I would say it's just like the return of myself you know to come back it's a lot different than I think in Year's past I think you know last year I the way it ended you know it was just so abrupt and you know it it definitely took a totally mentally so just to be out there again I don't really take anything for granted you know I think at this point in time he going to play every game that my last you see the touchdown extra yards I just I I just wasn't going to be deny basically you know I think how we included I think that's our mindset I think that you know we feed off each other very well and I'm excited for the year you know last year you averag around 13 carries a game your injury today 19 yeah how does that kind of feel you know you immediately getting in there with the workload and fresh after the injury obiously yeah you know I think that's just test to my coaches believing in me and you know I got to be better you know I think that there are some players that I left out there that I could have had some more yards on and you know just going to take a look at the film be better when you look at the Red Zone specifically you know as from a running back perspective do you think that there was maybe a year full Improvement there definitely definitely definitely definitely not not so necessarily just being on myself I think just as a as a whole and what we do I think there's definitely some thatting big play I mean it's definitely frustrating but you know like like I said watching film all week their goal was to stop the run so I you know not to say we wasn't expecting to break a big one of course you want to break a big one all the time but you got to be okay with the four and five yarders and then you know eventually you're going to bust one so I mean I think me and we did a really good job of being okay with those four five yard runs in a game like this part you do kind of have to be okay with that like you said you know it's kind of more methodical Run game how is it so beneficial to have guys like you and T that have played a lot of football and how do you guys kind of support each other in a little more slow paced game like that yeah I mean like like you said we played a lot of ball so you know you have to be okay with you know having that unblocked guy free so you have to be okay with running through him so I mean we me and we understand that pretty well so and you know we feed feed off each other well you know we come on the side like what' you see what' you see like I think you could did this so I think it's going to be really good so you talk about coming in the sideline obviously a new thing this year with the iPads just saw you guys running back rooms huddle around it just how different is that to be able to watch the play immediately like what that like it's cool as man like I think that like having to be out there and then seeing the play right after you either know like damn D I should have did this or you get to see like oh that was actually a really good play maybe we can do this again or they give you something that you were you're not familiar with so you can watch it and be prepared for it so I think it's you know it's really it's really good for us you know I think for every team around the country like it's it's really good for football can we let chz go