The numbers weren't anything to write home about last fall. Just 16 carries. Only 21 total offensive snaps. No touches after Week 7. But ask anyone on the University of Wisconsin football team's coaching staff, and they'll tell you there's been nothing quiet about the growth of Dilin Jones.

Jones arrived with a blue-chip pedigree and an SEC-caliber offer sheet, but in Year 1, he sat behind veterans like Tawee Walker and Chez Mellusi while fellow freshman Darian Dupree carved out early snaps. Still, Jones showed enough to quiet any talk of adding another back from the portal this past offseason, and now, they're seeing even more from him during fall camp.

That growth hasn't gone unnoticed by Wisconsin running backs coach Devon Spalding, who didn't hesitate when asked where Jones has taken the biggest step forward since he arrived on campus.

"I think first of all, his decision-making," Spalding said. "He's done a really nice job when he's got the ball in his hands. He's grown his entire knowledge of the offense. He's starting to really understand defensive structure. Really good communication with the offensive line, his physicality. He's grown with his pass protection. I think that he's improved in every area of his game, and I'm really pleased with where he's at."

This is exactly what Wisconsin hoped for from the 6-foot, 205-pound back out of Maryland. Last season, Jones forced eight missed tackles on just 16 attempts, good for the second-best per-carry mark in the country, per Pro Football Focus. And 80 of his 88 rushing yards came after contact. Those numbers suggest a back capable of breaking tackles and generating chunk plays in the wide zone scheme Jeff Grimes is installing.

Now, the difference is showing up everywhere: vision, patience, pass pro, communication. And the development isn't happening in isolation.

Wisconsin's running back room features four scholarship players: Jones, Dupree, Cade Yacamelli, and Gideon Ituka, who each bring something a little different and have pushed each other to be better all offseason.

The staff didn't go looking for transfers this offseason, not because there weren't options, but because they believed in the group they already had. It wasn't just about talent. It was about development, fit, mindset, and building the kind of room that pushes each other from within.

"We know we have a lot of young talent," said Spalding. "There are a lot of guys that are really hungry, that play with chips on their shoulder, that know they have a lot to prove, not to anybody outside the program, but really to themselves and this team... In our program, we talk about iron sharpens iron, and they are really, really good kids. They're really tough. They're very competitive. They push each other every day. They hold each other accountable to what the standard of our program is.

"To see the room flourish the way that it has and the camaraderie that's been built is really cool."

If the combination of Jones and Dupree is as ready as the staff believes, and they get timely contributions from the rest of the room to help open up the passing game and create calculated shots off play action, then the Wisconsin Badgers offense could be in a much better place than it's been at any point over the last two seasons since Luke Fickell arrived to lead the program.

"It's an open competition," Spalding said. "They feed off each other so well. All three of them are going to play for sure. You've got Gideon who's going to play as well. So, we'll see when we get to game day."