Ten Big Game Changers: Wisconsin RB John Clay

Second in a series on Ten Big Game Changers playing in the Big Ten Conference this fall

CHICAGO - Wisconsin running back John Clay dismissed the idea of declaring for the NFL draft almost immediately following the Badgers' 2009 season.

Clay, a 6-foot-1, 248-pound bowling ball of a running back, earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year honors after rushing for 1,517 last year as a sophomore. He led the Badgers to 10 victories, including an impressive win against Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl.

With a season like that, most backs would jump to the NFL and its riches. For Clay, it provided the opposite reaction.

"There was no doubt in my mind that I was coming back because I knew what kind of offense we had coming back," Clay said. "It's a special group. I wasn't mentally ready to go to the next level. I had a lot of stuff to learn. Coming back was the best thing for me."

Clay returned in part because of high expectations awaiting Wisconsin this fall. The Badgers enter the season ranked No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll. Many national pundits consider Wisconsin a dark-horse candidate for a national title.

"We've got a lot of older guys coming back. We know what's capable," Clay said. "We know what we need to do to become that elite group that Wisconsin (hasn't) had in a long time. Everybody knows what we can do, and we just need to stay focused.

"If we stay on our keys and do what we're capable of doing, then the sky is the limit for us."

Wisconsin Coach Bret Bielema saw changes in Clay's development as a runner from his solid freshman campaign to his spectacular sophomore season. Bielema said Clay has developed patience as a runner to go along with his physical skills.

"I would say from year one to year two, he was better this past year at finding where to hit and where to go," Bielema said. "That's why I'm excited about this year. I think he'll even grow that much more. Experience bodes well for anybody and if there isn't a hole, he can find a hole. But at the same time I think he has a better understanding of where things are supposed to go."

Clay, who hails from Racine, Wis., rushed for more than 100 yards in nine games last year, including his final six. Clay ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-14 upset of Miami to earn the bowl's Most Valuable Player Award. He scored 18 rushing touchdowns last year and averaged 5.2 yards a carry.

Clay missed spring practice after both of his ankles were surgically repaired. He said he's now running without pain for the first time since he was a child. After his sophomore season, it's easy to envision a Heisman Trophy campaign in Clay's future. That's something he already has pondered in conversations with former Wisconsin running back and 1999 Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne.

When Clay and Dayne talk, it's often about dealing with high expectations. Dayne still holds the Division I rushing record for yards in a career and gives Clay pointers about staying humble and putting the team first, Clay said.

"I feel that with the award it would come with the team success," Clay said. "As far as the team goes, there will be more talk about the whole award thing. If we don't do too good in a year, I'd disappear from the whole conversation about being a Heisman candidate."

WISCONSIN BADGERS

• 2009 record: 10-3 overall, 5-3 Big Ten (beat Miami 20-14 in Champs Sports Bowl:
• 2009 review: Wisconsin started 5-0 were derailed from its Big Ten title hopes in back-to-back losses to Ohio State and Iowa. The Badgers threw a combined five interceptions in those two games. Both INTs against Ohio State were returned for touchdowns, as was a kickoff. Wisconsin rebounded to five of its next six, including a 20-14 win against No. 14 Miami in the Champs Sports Bowl. The Badgers led the Big Ten in scoring offense at 31.8 points a game and in rushing offense (203.8 yards). Wisconsin also was first in stopping the run.
• 2010 schedule: S4 at UNLV; S11 San Jose State; S18 Arizona State; S25 Austin Peay; O2 at Michigan State; O9 Minnesota; O16 Ohio State; O23 at Iowa; N6 at Purdue; N13 Indiana; N20 at Michigan; N27 Northwestern
• 2010 national ranking: 12 (USA Today Coaches' Poll)
• 2010 preview: Wisconsin returns all but one starter from the league's top-scoring offense. RB John Clay, a junior, was named offensive player of the year by both media and coaches after rushing for 1,517 yards and 18 TDs last year. QB Scott Tolzien, a senior, returns after passing for 2,705 yards and 16 TDs and 11 INTs. Senior OT Gabe Carimi is considered perhaps the best offensive line prospect for the 2011 NFL draft, and OG John Moffitt was a first-team all-Big Ten selection. Junior WR Nick Toon caught 54 passes for 805 yards and four TDs last year. The defense lost five starters, including three linemen but returns second-team all-Big Ten safety Jay Valai.
• Making the rounds: Wisconsin's season boils down to a two-game stretch in mid-October. Wisconsin hosts Ohio State on Oct. 16 in a night game. Then the Badgers play arch-rival Iowa in Iowa City. A split gives the Badgers hope for a BCS bowl. Two wins could put Wisconsin in the BCS championship. There are other potential pitfalls, such as rivalry games vs. Minnesota and Michigan, plus the league opener at Michigan State and a road test at Purdue. But the Badgers don't play Penn State.
• Bowl game if: Anything less than the Capital One Bowl would be a capital disappointment in Madison. This might be the best Badger squad in recent years and if the new-look defensive line can play like last year's squad, it might be the best Wisconsin team ever.
• Home for the holidays if: Not an option this year
• Quotable: "(John Clay's) got an intimidation factor to me. He's big, he's strong, he's athletic. I always tell the story, when John's at practice ... when John starts running and the top part of his pads start clicking on his upper pad, it kind of gets everybody going. When that happens, everybody gets excited." - Wisconsin Coach Bret Bielema
• Prediction: 11-1, 7-1 Big Ten (Sugar Bowl)