John Clay - Wisconsin (HT: 6-1 - WT: 255) Combine 40: N/A - Pro Day 40: N/A - Position Rank: 20 of 30
Positives: Absolutely huge body but carries his weight well, even at 250 pounds doesn't have a ton of conditioning concerns... Does a great job holding onto the football... Challenges defenders, really packs a punch when people try to tackle him... Great stiff arm, consistently shoves defenders aside and keeps moving downfield... Keeps his legs moving through the pile, very strong lower body... Great in short yardage situations... Has put up huge numbers when healthy, had 1,517 yards and 18 TD as a redshirt sophomore in 2009... Big Ten Player of the Year in 2009... Very much a straight north/south runner, looks up-field at all times and grinds out yards... Big upside if he keeps himself in shape and stays healthy with his running style... Good in pass protection, his huge frame allows him to block well, but still can get a little better... No character concerns, was a five star recruit who embraced redshirting his freshman year and didn't show any animosity when asked to share the backfield in 2010.
Negatives: Rather slow through the hole, struggles to run away from defenders at the collegiate level... Lacks moves in the open field, prefers to run over defenders which will be more difficult to do in the NFL... Stiff hip movement and struggles to change direction... Below-average vision, misses holes sometimes when he's trying to run straight ahead... Doesn't contribute as a receiver, hands seem to be made of stone... Doesn't extend his arms well or make any difficult catches... Has had some injury problems, had surgery on both of his ankles during the 2010 off-season, running style is very rugged and he will take a lot of big hits in the NFL... Wisconsin has a history of good college running backs that do not translate well to the pros (P.J. Hill, Brian Calhoun, Anthony Davis, Michael Bennett, Ron Dayne, Terrell Fletcher, Brent Moss)... Has never returned a kickoff or a punt in his collegiate career... Numbers may be inflated by the fact that he ran behind arguably the best offensive line in college football... Missed two games at the end of 2010 with an ankle injury... Was overshadowed by James White and Montee Ball this year.
Rushing
Receiving
Season
Team
ATT
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
REC
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
Totals
629
3413
5.4
72
41
11
72
6.5
11
0
2008
Wisconsin
155
884
5.7
46
9
1
2
2.0
2
0
2009
Wisconsin
287
1517
5.3
72
18
9
61
6.8
11
0
2010
Wisconsin
187
1012
5.4
40
14
1
9
9.0
9
0
(January 28) --
The week of Senior Bowl practices are over, but more coverage is on the way.
We have posted notes and observations from both the North and South Thursday practices as well as transcripts from the Thursday press conferences.
Also posted is a Week in Review from the week's practices. Refer to the tabs above for full coverage. We'll have all the action coming to you from Saturday's game as well.
