MADISON, Wis. -- The tight end position has been valuable for the Wisconsin Badgers in recent years. Owen Daniels and Travis Beckum are both playing in the NFL. Garrett Graham has led the team this season, but Lance Kendricks provided a new wrinkle in the Badgers offense in the Purdue game.

Kendricks ran the ball four times for 91 yards.

"Coach [Chryst] came up with a great scheme right there," said tight ends coach Joe Rudolph. "And something we could take advantage of and Lance did a great job, and those guys blocked their tails off for him."

"I was surprised he put it in," Kendricks said. "But he did and I just went with it."

This is nothing new for the junior tight end. Kendricks played running back in high school in Milwaukee, but he said playing at the collegiate level is different.

"It was hard at first," Kendricks said. "And I really didn't want to do it, but I got the blocking down and it really wasn't too bad."

Kendricks' effort earned him the team's offensive MVP honor.

"The carries that he got, just under 100 yards, were exceptional," said coach Bret Bielema. "Lance went out there and looked like an All-American tailback on that run and made some guys miss, stiff-armed a guy, and read the blocks the way he needed to do it."