A page in Wisconsin football has officially been turned. And we’ve been waiting since Sept. 27, 2008 for it to happen, if not longer.
Although you’d like it to escape your memory completely, that Saturday afternoon was the beginning of the end for the 2008 Badgers as they watched their 19-point halftime lead vanish under the bright lights of The Big House.
If you remember correctly, it was a coming-out-party, of sorts, for a redshirt freshman from Racine named John Clay, a party crashed by his own inability to understand the UW playbook.
In that game, the Badgers scored 19 first-half points on four Philip Welch field goals and a three-yard touchdown by Clay, which came one play after he scampered for 46 yards, finally igniting a less-than-impressive offense — unable to truly capitalize on several Michigan turnovers — led by senior transfer quarterback Allan Evridge.
So Clay went into the locker room with 49 yards and a touchdown on just two carries. He finished with 52 yards on three total rushes.
“The play that normal people don’t see is a play that John was in where the game was extremely tight, and he went the wrong direction,” said head coach Bret Bielema in his subsequent Monday press conference. “But as coaches, now you get in a situation where you know every play counts and you’re in the third and fourth quarter, and you know P.J. Hill has been there, done that and has done certain things, and you know he’s at least going to go the right way.”
Understandable. But since that 27-25 loss in Ann Arbor — and his 5.7 yards per rush during his freshman campaign — Badger fans have been begging for No. 32 to receive more carries. That’s been the overwhelming consensus in this state for the last year-plus. And until now, two factors other than his own blunders have stood in the way of the emergence of the Clay era.
No. 1 of course was the very unappreciated 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, P.J. Hill. No matter what Clay did, Hill was the feature back last season. But it was perhaps Clay’s overpowering upside that led to Hill’s premature departure from UW, as he declared for the NFL draft after his junior season.
No. 2 is Zach Brown, another underrated back, who has been overshadowed by Hill’s early success and the more recent calls for Clay. And, in a feature role, Brown has the potential to be a star, as he proved in 2007, when he rushed for 250 yards at Minnesota.
But those that follow this team closely will not argue Hill was essential to UW’s success from 2006-08 and Brown is a more-than-sufficient back himself.
And with that said, all will agree that neither are Clay.
Clay is a rare talent, an immediate game-changer in ways Hill and Brown simply don’t have in their arsenals. I am not a coach or scout, but I see things in Clay that I never saw in his elders, perhaps since Ron Dayne.
When Clay touches the ball, there always is the chance of him breaking a 72-yard touchdown, as he did in the waning minutes against Fresno State this season. Had he not found the north end zone at that particular time, the Badgers might not have beat the visiting Bulldogs. And that overtime win provided momentum that vaulted Wisconsin past Wofford in blowout form, then Michigan State and Minnesota in respective weeks.
Don’t believe in momentum? Just ask the 2008 Badgers — a team that started Big Ten play 0-4 — about it.
Clay fumbled three times against Wofford three games ago, prompting him to take a backseat to Brown on the depth chart. How did he respond? By running for 336 yards and four touchdowns on 64 carries against the Spartans and Gophers combined.
The past two weeks have erased the question marks, eliminated the gray area and, more importantly, deleted the “or” on the depth chart, much like Scott Tolzien has at the quarterback position.
Finally, there are no more questions as to whom this offense is centered around. Sure, Clay will continue to make mental mistakes and Brown will still get some touches, as will freshman Montee Ball.
But as many of us predicted long ago, this UW offense only goes as far as Clay takes it. He’s just too talented not to demand 30 touches a game.
So you got your wish: the John Clay era has officially begun. He deserves the spotlight. Now it’s his time to shine in it.
Derek is a former Herald sports editor and football beat writer. Is he right about the sentiment surrounding Clay? Let him know at [email protected].
