MADISON, Wis. -- At Wisconsin, Jonathan Taylor flies so incredibly far over the radar, the case could be made for just about any other player as sneaky, more inconspicuous threat.

But in it's latest list of under-the-radar stars on each Top 25 college football team, ESPN named Garrett Groshek as the Badger to watch out for.

"While Jonathan Taylor and Taiwan Deal get most of the carries, and most of the rushing yards, Groshek is still an important piece of the offense," Tom VanHaaren wrote. "He averaged 6.5 yards per carry last season, and Groshek has the mentality and persona that embodies Wisconsin football. He is a tough leader within the locker room, and a few people at Wisconsin mentioned Groshek as an indispensable player on the team."

In his three years at Wisconsin--two on the field after redshirting his first season--Groshek has appeared in 27 total games. He owns 126 carries on the whole for 722 yards (5.7 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. He's also seen some work in the passing game with 28 total receptions for 203 yards (7.3 yards per carry) and one score.

Groshek certainly has the ability to impact the game in his own way, but in any given game, he's content with having Wisconsin's Doak Walker Award winner take the lead.

"I’m not gonna say no to getting the ball," Groshek said after one of the Badgers' spring practices. "But if JT’s good to go, everybody knows it in the country--that our best chance of winning is when 23’s got the ball in his hands."

"So whatever he needs, whatever the team needs."

One of those needs is third-down conversions. For the last few years, Groshek has been one of the Badgers' more frequent go-to ball carriers in third-down situations. And while Taylor is working this offseason toward also becoming a reliable target, catching those short tosses out in the flat remains more of Groshek's bread-and-butter.

"Our goal is to have [Taylor] in, be an every down guy," running backs coach John Settle told Evan Flood. "He's not where he wants to be catching the ball. Everything's gotta be right for us to trust him in that part of the game."

Across the board, Wisconsin's passing game is one of its biggest points of emphasis this season. Groshek recognizes that and has worked this spring to help elevate it however he can.

"I think we can be more balanced," Groshek said. "It’ll help loosen up the box and everything like that, only help the run game if we can take shots, and complete shots and be able to move the sticks with the ball in the air."

The ability to spot areas in need of improvement beyond his own position, then to take it a step further and do what he can to help make those improvements is, to VanHaaren's point, a very strong leadership quality and makes Groshek one to watch in the Big Ten this season.

From the conference, here's who else made the "under-the-radar star" list: