John Clay
Years played: 2008-2010
Career rushing yards: 3,413
Career rushing touchdowns: 41
Honors/Awards: Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year (2009), First team All-Big Ten (2009), Second team All-Big Ten (2010)
Notes: Led Big Ten, eighth in NCAA, in rushing yards (1,517) in 2009. Led Big Ten, seventh in NCAA, in rushing touchdowns (18) in 2009. Fourth in Big Ten in rushing touchdowns (14) in 2010.
Clay’s Game
Clay was one of the highest rated running backs on this list coming out of high school. The Racine product was expected to continue the trend of dominant running backs. And did he ever. Clay’s best work was done between the tackles. He didn’t always display breakaway speed, but he did’t need it. Clay was a load to bring down and usually the first contact he ran into he ended up running right through. Clay ran with a purpose unlike most backs on this list. He was on the field to pick up yards and score touchdowns. Defenders realized the best way to bring Clay down was to strike him at his base, which only led to Clay developing a nice hurdle move.
Clay’s Legacy
Clay helped bridge the gap from the Alvarez era to the Bielema era, and beyond. P.J. Hill was a freshman for Bielema’s first year in Madison, when the future of the program was uncertain. After Hill came Clay. When the highly-touted prospect decided he was going to be a Badger, it was certain the running back tradition was in good hands for at least a few more years. There isn’t much Clay could have done to be a better Badger. Clay was on the first Rose Bowl team in 2010 with Montee Ball and James White in the backfield with him. Coming off a year in 2009 when he won Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, it must have been tough to split time with such young, talented backs. He still made the most of it.