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LOOK: New Wisconsin RB Abu Sama looks absolutely jacked in Badgers team workout

The Wisconsin Badgers' new transfer portal running back has muscles on top of muscles that will be very difficult to tackle.
Lorin Cox|
Former Iowa State Cyclones running back Abu Sama (24) looks like a man among boys in the Wisconsin Badgers weight room.
Former Iowa State Cyclones running back Abu Sama (24) looks like a man among boys in the Wisconsin Badgers weight room. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers added some serious muscle to their backfield in the transfer portal.

That has been abundantly clear in the photos coming out of the team's early offseason workouts.

Luke Fickell added a trio of running backs through the portal, each of whom provide different skillsets to balance Wisconsin's running game.

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But it's new starter Abu Sama from Iowa State who is already standing out as a man among boys.

Badgers players shared photos from a lifting session in Wisconsin's weight room, and Sama looked jacked like an NFL player with muscles on top of muscles.

Sama transferred in after three seasons at Iowa State, taking over the lead back role in 2025.

The Cyclones listed him at 5-foot-11, 210 pounds, and it doesn't look like he had much body fat contributing to that number.

He has consistently been hard to tackle throughout his college career.

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According to PFF, Sama forced 48 missed tackles last season, which put him among the Top 25 running backs in the country.

As a backup the year before, he still broke 35 tackles, and as a freshman, he averaged an astonishing 7.3 yards after contact per carry.

Sama will bring an endearing physicality to the position for the Badgers, along with the additions of Nate Palmer from TCU and Bryan Jackson from USC plus the return of Darrion Dupree.

He looks the part of a Wisconsin running back, and he should set the tone for what the rest of the backfield should aspire to.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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