MADISON – Wisconsin tailback Nakia Watson may never forget the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

Then a wide-eyed freshman, Watson didn’t play a snap in the game.

That marked the 13th consecutive game in which Watson was a spectator rather than a participant.

So why does Watson, now a redshirt freshman, recall that time fondly? Because in the practices leading up to the game in Yankee Stadium Watson finally began performing like the runner who starred at Westlake High School in Texas and caught the attention of the UW coaches.

“I feel like it started clicking during bowl prep,” Watson said this week. “When we were preparing for the Pinstripe Bowl I would have little glimpses of everything clicking.

“That is when I started gaining my confidence back. I felt like I knew what I was doing and was playing at full speed.”

Those practices were closed, but fans got their first glimpse of Watson’s talent and potential last week in the Badgers’ 49-0 victory over South Florida.

The 5-foot-11, 229-pound Watson rushed 14 times for 80 yards and one score, a 27-yard burst around right end.

“We were ready to show you guys for weeks now,” center Tyler Biadasz said of Watson. “He has been like that. He is a really good boost for us.”

UW’s staff wasted little time in getting Watson onto the field.

Jonathan Taylor rushed six times for 52 yards and a touchdown on UW’s first drive. He gained 10 yards on the first play of the second series, to the UW 22, and then gave way to Watson.

Watson took the hand-off from quarterback Jack Coan, made one quick cut into a hole, ran over a defender at the 28 and gained another 3 yards to the 31 before going down.

“I loved his first run,” head coach Paul Chryst said. “He took it and ran behind his pads.”

Watson’s touchdown run came late in the third quarter.

He started up the middle behind two pulling linemen, ran up the back of fullback Mason Stokke near the 28, bounced outside to the right and used his speed and a downfield block from wide receiver Adam Krumholz to score.

“First carry, you could tell he was ready,” Taylor said. “He hit the hole 100 miles an hour. Then you could see he got adjusted to the speed of the game.

“He started following the pullers and then took off down the sideline for his first touchdown. It was very exciting for all of us.”

Watson’s first college season was, at times, frustrating.

He rushed for 3,719 yards and 51 touchdowns in three seasons at Westlake. Those numbers included a senior season of 1,938 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Yet Watson, like many freshmen, needed time to absorb the playbook. And with Taylor, Taiwan Deal and Garrett Groshek combining to rush for 3,164 yards and 23 touchdowns last season, UW didn’t need a fourth tailback.

“What I needed to get comfortable with was to know the playbook,” Watson acknowledged. “It is all about assignment and alignment and then getting used to the speed of the game

“It got frustrating a few times, just knowing that I knew I could do it (physically) but it wasn’t really clicking.”

Taylor and Groshek are UW’s top two backs this season, but with Deal gone, fifth-year senior Bradrick Shaw finally returning from a knee injury that cost him all of last season and freshman Julius Davis (core injury) out, the Badgers need a dependable backup.

“Nakia had a good night, a good start,” Chryst said. “I think the biggest jump has been just (a) combination of understanding what he is being asked to do and confidence in himself.”

Watson found that confidence during bowl practices and then built on those performances in the spring.

“The coaches were starting to tell me: ‘OK, we’re starting to see it come together for you. Just keep going and get some extra film,’ ” Watson said of his work in the spring.

He heeded the advice and spent time throughout the summer studying video with Groshek.

“I came into fall camp,” Watson said, “and it just clicked.”