MADISON – Jonathan Taylor faced a prickly decision last fall:

The talented tailback from Salem, N.J., could stand by his original commitment and stay home to play for Rutgers, in front of family and friends who have supported him for years.

Or, Taylor could tell the Rutgers staff he had changed his mind and decided to play for the program he had followed from afar for several years:

Wisconsin.

Staying home to play for Rutgers likely would bring more defeat than triumph. In three seasons in the Big Ten Rutgers is 4-21 in league play and 14-23 overall.

The Scarlet Knights went 0-9 in the Big Ten in 2016, Chris Ash’s first season as head coach. Their losses to East Division rivals Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State came by a combined 175-0.

Leaving for UW likely would mean contending for the West Division title in most seasons. UW won the division title last season, is favored to do so again in 2017 and is a consensus top-10 team in the preseason polls.

“It definitely was a tough decision,” the freshman said after practice Wednesday. “You want to play for your home state and have all your family and friends come to a lot of the games. But at the end of the day, in your mind you have to say: ‘What is best for me? What is best for my educational future? What is best for my football career?’

“And then you ask yourself how you want to spend your next four years and what you want to accomplish. Then you have to hone in on yourself and block out all the other opinions.

“It was definitely a tough decision but I’m glad I made it.”

So are the UW coaches, who have been impressed by how quickly Taylor grew comfortable with the offense, his play-making ability as a runner and receiver and his overall maturity.

Taylor said Wednesday he hasn’t been told yet whether he will play in the Sept. 1 opener against Utah State. According to a source, the plan is to use the freshman early and often this season.

Chris James and Bradrick Shaw got the bulk of the reps with the No. 1 offense during camp, which closed Monday. However, the ankle injury that sidelined Taiwan Deal gave Taylor and graduate transfer Rachid Ibrahim additional chances.

Taylor wowed observers in New Jersey by averaging 234.6 yards per game as a senior at Salem High School. He finished with a state-record 2,815 yards and 35 touchdowns. Taylor broke the single-season mark for rushing yards set by a player from nearby Glassboro, a player he watched as an eighth-grader. That player was former UW tailback Corey Clement.

Taylor, who has been timed at 10.49 seconds in the 100-meter dash and carries 214 pounds on his 5-foot-11 frame, recently wowed the Big Ten Network crew with two long touchdowns in a closed scrimmage. He ripped off a long run against UW's No. 1 defense and turned a short pass into a touchdown against a mix of reserves.

Asked Wednesday about his play in the scrimmage, Taylor dismissed the highlight-reel plays and offered a harsh critique of his overall performance.

“I feel my night was pretty decent,” he said. “The media hones in on the big plays but when you look at the film and you see so many reps that weren’t as clean, that is when you start criticizing yourself.

“You try to be the best you can be every single rep. You can’t hone in on the big plays. You have to hone in on the things you didn’t do right, coach yourself up and learn from them.”

Such maturity isn’t the norm for touted freshmen, but running backs coach John Settle noted early in camp that Taylor was both bright and mature.

Taylor displayed his maturity by describing his plan of attack when he arrived at UW on June 17, in time for part of summer workouts.

“Coming from a spread offense and from high school to the college level, you’ve got to get used to things – the offense, play-calls, blitzes, pressures,” he said. “So my main goal was to absorb all the information, being able to remember the plays, being able to know the pressures, the blitzes. That is one thing I really worked on when I first came here.

“Then as the weeks followed I tried to put it into action, taking all the coaching points and trying to get better. I feel that gradually started to come together and you started to get a feel for things.

“Players here are smarter and faster. So you listen to the coaching points. Then at some point, you’ve got to start using what got you here, your talent and ability."

Taylor appears ready to show UW fans and foes the lessons he has learned and the talent he has honed.