Cade Yacamelli is here to stay for the Wisconsin Badgers despite how the 2024 season made him feel unwanted.
The redshirt junior came to the team with high expectations as the main running back but certain development got him booted out as the main option.
Tawee Walker took over him last season but this guy has left the team through the transfer portal and is now set to suit up for the Cincinnati Bearcats when the new season opens.
Yacamelli had a hard time accepting that he is no longer the RB1 although it only happened at the end of the season. This is despite the numbers he was putting up in the first half of the season.
He admitted that he thought about leaving as he had a hard time accepting the changes.
What made him stay? The teammates.
“The relationships I’ve built with those guys, I can’t leave that behind,” Yacamelli told reporters as quoted by Badgers247.
“I’ve gotta give hats off to my teammates and Wisconsin. It’s really hard for me to leave this place with the memories and relationships I have with the guys in the locker room.
“I know it’s a cliche, but it’s really true. I love the guys. I’ve been here so long, because I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to say goodbye to those relationships I have here.”
Cade Yacamelli receives praises from coaches
The coaches convinced him to stay and was promised a bigger role.
“I wanted to hear that they really value me for who I was,” he said.
“It’s easy to say it, but actions too are another thing. This winter, I think they’ve really proven that to me. This year is gonna be different. I’ll have a higher role. Not only that, I’ll be trusted to lead these guys.”
The increased role was not just meant to appease him. Early predictions even has him breaking out.
His own coaches have observed how the setback helped him.
Running back coach Devon Spalding attest to that.
“I think he’s grown tremendously in the leadership role,” he said.
“He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve been around. I love the way he comes to work every day.”
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