George Santayana was one of the 20th century’s great philosophers, becoming one of the first Americans (although he had Spanish citizenship, he spent much of his childhood and life in the United States) to publish works on such philosophical topics as aesthetics and pragmatism. He even received an honorary degree in letters from the University of Wisconsin in 1911. Although his works and his name are hardly famous, most Americans are familiar with this quote, one of Santayana’s aphorisms:
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
For P.J. Hill, repeating history would have been anything but a condemnation. His freshman season of 2006 was absolutely dominant, as the young Hill bowled over opposing defenses for 120 yards per game, amassing a total of 1,569 yards with 15 touchdowns and averaging five yards per rush. It was a promising debut, and although it wasn’t quite as incredible as the entrance that was Ron Dayne’s freshman season — 1,863 yards, 6.1 yards per rush — it left Badger fans wondering if they had another talent for the ages on their hands. Just ask P.J. Hill:
"“I don’t like to be compared to anyone, although [Dayne]’s a good guy to be compared to,” Hill said. “Everybody wants to have their own running style. I don’t want people to say I run like Ron Dayne. I want them to say he runs like P.J. Hill.”"
Anybody who says that P.J. Hill was anything less than good in his final two seasons as a Badger is clouded by high expectations and the disappointment that resulted. Hill still rushed for over 2300 yards and added another 27 touchdowns in his sophomore and junior seasons, but the burst that made him a star in 2006 was missing.
As the 2008 season progressed, it became clear that P.J. Hill was no longer the star of the Wisconsin backfield. The passing of the torch was already in progress to freshman John Clay, who managed 884 yards and 9 touchdowns in a mere 155 attempts (about half of Hill’s attempts in 2006). The massive Clay showed a brutally powerful style akin to — you guessed it — Ron Dayne.
The buzz around John Clay was significant even back to his days as a recruit. Clay was a four-star talent and even considered the number one running back recruit in the country by some sources. The bruising back compiled a crazy 4,997 yards at Washington Park High School and averaged over eight yards per rush in each of his prep seasons. Clay would make some college defenses look like high school units in 2009, his sophomore season and breakout season, as he rushed for 1,517 yards and 18 touchdowns en route to a Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Award.
But it wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops for Clay, or if it was, there may have been a few too many lollipops. Clay was always known for his power more than his speed, as follows for a man of his size. Clay is listed at 6-foot-1, 248 pounds by UWBadgers.com and, as one would expect from such a large back, Clay tended to score more through power than speed. Clay’s best rushes tended to come through a rumble past the first level of linemen and then lumbering until a speedy defensive back caught up and brought him down. Particularly as James White and Montee Ball established themselves as equally important — if not more important — parts of the Wisconsin running back corps, Clay’s inability to bust outside for big runs became apparent. Over the conference season, Clay only averaged 4.4 yards per rush, and the passing of the torch was in progress a year early once again.
There was little doubt among the Wisconsin fanbase that weight problems were the problem behind the big man’s lack of burst. Clay was noticeably larger in 2011 than during his 2010 campaign, even eliciting some (perhaps unwitting) insults from coach Bret Bielema:
"On a nondescript day last winter, Bielema encountered tailback John Clay in the UW locker room. Clay was between ankle surgeries that prevented him from running and was overweight.Bielema glanced at the 6-foot-1 Clay and joked he looked like right tackle Josh Oglesby, who is listed at 335 pounds."
To be fair to Clay, I’m pretty sure I would gain some weight if I had surgery on both my ankles too.
It’s not like Clay was the first running back in Wisconsin history with a weight issue, perceived or real, or even the only back on the 2008 team with a weight problem. P.J. Hill had his own struggles with his weight, dating back to his Pop Warner days and his days as a recruit. Hill sliced some pounds off between his freshman and sophomore years, but still checked in at a large 5-foot-10, 223 pounds, but he was back up to 236 pounds by his junior year.
Clay’s story at Wisconsin ended up eerily similar to Hill’s: come in, show similar qualities to Ron Dayne as a freshman, dominate the Big Ten in the first season as a starter, and exit as a (perhaps unwarranted) disappointment due to the promise of the running backs who stole the spotlight during the junior season amid mumbles of being too fat. The description covers Hill’s career just as much as it does Clay’s, merely two seasons apart.
And thus we return to Santayana’s aphorism, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This accusation is hardly laid at Clay’s feet — perhaps there was more he could have done during his Badger career, perhaps injuries and the emergence of James White and Montee Ball in 2010 set him up to fail. There are plenty of others inside the program to point fingers at for failing to turn Clay’s early career dominance into what we would expect out of an upperclassman with his pedigree. And we can just as easily point the finger back at ourselves, the fans, for missing the obvious connections between the two careers.
In the end, this is an awfully negative tone to take with two running backs who gave more to the University of Wisconsin program than a vast majority of players who walk through the tunnel at Camp Randall Stadium. But as we look at the state of the Wisconsin Badgers football program today, we see an immensely bright future, with the prospects of three more seasons of James White and two more of Montee Ball at the forefront. The history of upperclassmen Badger running backs is all too clear. I just hope we aren’t condemned to repeat it.