Rachid Ibrahim hoping to revive career in Wisconsin

A little-mentioned note last month was that former Pitt running back transferred out of the program and headed to Wisconsin to join former coach Paul Chryst. Ibrahim has a year of eligibility left and hasn't carried the ball since 2014. He missed all of 2015 with an injury and last year, played primarily on special teams. Given how little he's played for Pitt in the past two years, it was mostly a non-factor for the program.

Ibrahim obviously feels pretty comfortable with Chryst and his former coach was surely the biggest factor in his decision. Players often transfer to other schools for more playing time. But it looks like he'll be hard-pressed to get a ton of carries with the Badgers. As a grad transfer, he'll be able to play immediately this season.

First, he'll have to compete with former Pitt rusher Chris James, who could get considerable time this year after sitting out last season due to transferring to Wisconsin. There's also Bradrick Shaw and Taiwan Deal, who combined for more than 600 yards last year as backups.

Ibrahim will likely start behind all of those guys on the depth chart and if he hasn't been able to regain his rushing ability, he could find it hard to get playing time. You might remember that last year, head coach Pat Narduzzi talked about Ibrahim having a hard time returning to form. Part of the problem, too, was that Pitt was just so deep at running back.

The good news for Ibrahim is that Chryst and Wisconsin have had a lot of success spreading the ball around to its backs. Even if Ibrahim is only the fourth running back on the depth chart, he could still see a good amount of time on the field.

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