Cade Yacamelli might not be the first name Wisconsin Badgers fans think of when it comes to impressive athletes on the roster, but his athletic testing numbers tell a different story.

The redshirt junior running back was one of two Badgers who landed on Bruce Feldman’s annual college football “freaks” list for 2025, along with senior safety Austin Brown.

Feldman noted that Yacamelli ran a 4.40 40-yard dash at 5-foot-10, 220 pounds, but the more notable feats came in his jumps and lifts.

The running back measured a 10-foot-9 and 3/4 inch broad jump and a 37 and 1/2-inch vertical jump. For comparison, both of those are higher than what Jonathan Taylor produced at the NFL scouting combine and slightly surpass what Christian McCaffrey did coming out of Stanford.

On top of that, Yacamelli can squat 635 pounds and put out 33 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press.

He’s been a little bit overshadowed by Darrion Dupree and Dilin Jones during spring and fall practices, but maybe he shouldn’t be.

Austin Brown has some impressive numbers of his own, according to Feldman.

The 6-2, 214-pound Brown is really gifted. This offseason, he clocked a 4.40 40, vertical jumped 41 inches and broad jumped 10-8. He also squatted 585 pounds and did 21 reps of 225 on the bench.

– Bruce Feldman, The Athletic

That combination of strength and explosiveness helped him rack up 51 tackles last year with a sack, a forced fumble and three pass breakups

These Badgers athletes might not be household names, but both have a great opportunity to establish themselves as big time play-makers this season with their immense physical tools