Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
9/153rd/4th & short
3/28Inside-5 share
9 of 15 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (60.0%). 3 of the team's 28 inside-the-5 carries (10.7%).
John Chenal
Last confirmed: Wisconsin, 2021. No 2026 box-score games on record.
6′2″ · 256 lb · Grantsburg, WI
John Chenal: FB · Wisconsin · #44.
John Chenal
He has spent three seasons in the Wisconsin backfield. A game that shows it: 28 rushing yards and 14 receiving yards against Illinois — Week 6, 2021.
How he plays
How he plays
News and fans
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
Wisconsin in the news
Where to follow him
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 10-16vs No. 19 Penn State | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Wk 2 | W 34-7vs Eastern Michigan | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Wk 4 | L 13-41vs No. 12 Notre Dame | 3 | 11 | 3.7 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 5 | L 17-38vs No. 14 Michigan | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 2 | |
| Wk 6 | W 24-0@ Illinois | 9 | 28 | 3.1 | 1 | 6 | Season-high 28 yds |
| Wk 7 | W 20-14vs Army | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Wk 8 | W 30-13@ No. 25 Purdue | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 27-7vs No. 9 Iowa | 4 | 15 | 3.8 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 10 | W 52-3@ Rutgers | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 35-7vs Northwestern | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Wk 12 | W 35-28vs Nebraska | 3 | 6 | 2.0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Total | 28 | 69 | 2.5 | 1 | 8 |
Signature game
Week 6 · 2021
W 24-0
at Illinois
28 rush yds (9 car) · 1 TD · 2 rec · 14 yds
Dominant 24-point win on the road against Illinois.
With G. Mertz — 100 yds · 0 TD · 1 INT · QBR 71.1 · 22 rush yds (2 car) · C. Mellusi — 145 rush yds (21 car) · 1 TD
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 9 · Iowa · 4th and 1 · Q2 · EPA −4.21John Chenal run for no gain to the Iowa 1
- Week 1 · Arizona State · 4th and 10 · Q4 · EPA −3.49John Chenal run for 3 yds to the ArzSt 7
- Week 12 · Nebraska · 4th and 1 · Q4 · EPA −2.89John Chenal run for a loss of 1 yard to the Neb 32
- Week 10 · Rutgers · 4th and 1 · Q2 · EPA +2.79Mertz to Chenal: a 1-yard touchdown pass.
- Week 1 · Arizona State · 1st and 8 · Q1 · EPA +2.32John Chenal 8 Yd Run
- Week 5 · Michigan · 4th and 1 · Q2 · EPA +2.15John Chenal run for 2 yds to the Wisc 47 for a
4 more plays
- Week 12 · Nebraska · 4th and 1 · Q1 · EPA +2.00John Chenal run for 4 yds to the Neb 37 for a
- Week 6 · Illinois · 2nd and 1 · Q2 · EPA +1.90John Chenal run for 1 yd for a TD, (Collin Larsh KICK)
- Week 7 · Army · 4th and 1 · Q2 · EPA +1.56John Chenal run for 2 yds to the Army 33 for a
- Week 1 · Penn State · 3rd and 1 · Q2 · EPA −1.14John Chenal run for no gain to the Wisc 49
2021 snapshot
Season context: team record and system
3 seasons under Paul Chryst — 23-11 over that span.
2019Wisconsin10-4HC: Paul Chryst · Run-heavy
2020Wisconsin4-3HC: Paul Chryst · Run-heavy, fast tempo
2021Wisconsin9-4HC: Paul Chryst · Run-heavy
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 4.0 | 1.9 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 10.0 | 1.4 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 7.7 | 2.1 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 4.6 | 1.7 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Paul Chryst
Pass share
35.0%
300 pass / 558 run
Plays / game
71.5
12 games
Team sack rate
5.7%
316 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Awards
Player standing · 2021
32 carries and 7 catches in 11 games
Fewer touches a game than most FBS running backs who play every week.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Four seasons at Wisconsin
- 2021 Wisconsin ChrystYear 4 · 11 games
- 2020 Wisconsin ChrystYear 3 · 4 games
- 2019 Wisconsin ChrystYear 2 · 8 games
- 2018 Wisconsin ChrystYear 1 · on the roster, no stat line
- Before collegeSigned with Wisconsin in 2018 as a 3-star recruit, No. 1,821 in the country.
His moves
- Signed with Wisconsin in the 2018 class, a 3-star recruit.
How it ended
Three seasons at Wisconsin, 223 rushing yards — his college career is complete.
His career
He has a stat line in 23 games over 3 seasons.
2018
- Signed with Wisconsin3-star out of Grantsburg
Coaching lineage · 2018–2021
1 coach2018–2021
Wisconsin
Played his entire career under Paul Chryst.