Entering the season third and fourth on the Badger running back depth chart, freshmen Zach Brown and John Clay brought up the inexperienced end of a potentially devastating Wisconsin ground attack. Neither was completely acclimated to the Badger offense, but both had the luxury of backing up the premiere tandem of sophomores P.J. Hill and Lance Smith while they fulfilled their highly advertised potential.
Then, Sept. 5, Smith was suspended for all road games, forcing the others to pick up the 11 carries and 60 yards of slack he had pulled in the team's opener against Washington State. With a vital weapon of the Badgers' ground attack literally grounded, Clay and Brown moved up one all-important spot on the depth chart, and with crucial games at Penn State and Ohio State looming in the not-so-distant future, they may need to speed up the acclimation process just a bit.
Then again, maybe they're both already well on their way.
I do feel very, very good about our backup situation,"" head coach Bret Bielema said Monday. ""Zach and John have done things very well. Now with this week, being at home for the next three, we'll have Lance, but again, Zach Brown has continued to make progress and every day just seems to be a better picture for him overall.""
Brown took the lead over Clay early on and has especially impressed coaches, adapting to the team's offense as if it came naturally to him.
""Zach has an ability to come in and be able to learn, not overwhelmed by going up against bigger linemen, able to pass protect - he's been able to learn the whole system in such a short period of time,"" running backs coach John Settle said.
Brown, from Royal Palm, Fla., came to Madison ranked among the nation's top 50 high school running backs by Scouts.com, as he left Royal Palm Beach High School second all-time on both the team's rushing yards and touchdown lists. He immediately saw playing time and has rushed for 32 yards on six carries so far this year.
Despite Smith's suspension, Brown said he has felt no added pressure to work harder or develop more quickly.
""It doesn't put any pressure on me 'cause I want to learn fast and get better fast either way,"" Brown said. ""I'm settling in pretty good, learning the plays, learning the protections, but I still have a lot of work to do.""
According to Settle, Brown's advantage over Clay is due largely to Clay's late start. Over the summer it was widely reported he would have to sit out the entire season after failing minimum NCAA academic requirements. The reports were premature, but by the time he had taken summer courses and was finally sanctioned by the NCAA Clearinghouse, he had already missed the first two weeks of practice.
""John Clay, because of academic things, got here a little late and has been having some trouble with things, has struggled with understanding pass protection, that kind of thing,"" Settle said. ""It's not surprising, it's just something that happens for some players.""
That's not to say Clay doesn't have potential. As a junior at Washington Park High School in Racine, Wis., he rushed for 2,032 yards and 30 touchdowns while leading his team to a state title.
After losing to Washington Park in the state playoffs in 2005, Muskego football coach John Sterner told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ""I saw Michael Bennett play. (Brian) Calhoun was a really good player, but Clay is at a different level. To me, he looks like Jim Brown or Chuck Muncie: that tall guy who can still move. He's a freak.""
Coming out of high school, Clay was rated as the No. 4 running back in the nation on Rivals.com. It doesn't hurt that he's 6'2' and 222 lbs.
""He has something you can't coach - he has size,"" Settle said. ""A lot of guys would like to have that size and the speed he's able to run with, the ability to get his pads down on people and be physical. When the time comes, he'll be ready to play and he'll help us a lot.""
So Clay and Brown continue to prepare themselves for when the Badgers need them most. Hill carried most of the load in the team's first game sans Lance Smith, but Settle said he'd like to limit Hill to at least 10 fewer plays, which may give Brown and Clay a chance to showcase their skills.
In the meantime, a little rivalry hasn't prevented the two from becoming friends.
""We've become good friends since we met each other,"" Brown said. ""If one doesn't understand something, we help each other out, so we're bonding really good right now.
