I have a weekly call-in with a sports talk show on the campus radio station here in Madison.
I say this with no intent of tooting my own horn — I'm not sure my voice translates all that well to radio. But in the last two weeks, one question my gracious hosts have raised has involved the running back position. Namely, should Zach Brown still be ahead of John Clay as the top backup to P.J. Hill.
While to some extent it is a rather meaningless issue — both will get their share of carries dictated more by situation than whose name is ahead of whose — it is an interesting question nonetheless.
No doubt Clay is the more physically imposing of the two. But in all reality that fact isn't all that telling when you consider the same statement could be made about Clay and just about every other member of the UW team, save perhaps Chris Pressley, Travis Beckum and maybe a couple others.
Through the first three games, Clay does have better numbers than Brown, but only by a narrow margin.
Clay: 26 carries, 139 yards (5.4 per carry) and three touchdowns.
Brown: 25 carries, 128 yards (5.3 per carry), two touchdowns.
As you can see, they are, more or less, at the same production levels when it comes to running the ball. Where Brown has the edge is his knowledge of the offense. Brown is good at blitz recognition and pickup — two things that don't show up on the stat sheet, and often go unnoticed by fans — and has proven himself a decent receiver out of the backfield. So while fans see Clay bowling over overmatched Marshall linebackers, coaches see a nice blitz pickup against Fresno State that allows Allan Evridge to find an open receiver for a first down.
Bottom line, I think Brown will stay the number two on the depth chart for the foreseeable future. But I have been known to be wrong (see: wagering on Ohio State in each of the last two National Championship games).
Since there's no game this week, might as well break down the Clay-Brown issue in further, less football-y fashion.
Better hair
No offense to Clay, but he's got a fairly run-of-the-mill tight buzz. Brown, on the other hand, rocks the stylish dreads. Not really close here.
Advantage: Brown
Better hometown
Sure Royal Palm Beach, Fla. sounds a lot cooler than Racine. Actually, a lot warmer. Anyway, on its face it would seem a slam dunk for the Zach Attack (not an actual nickname, just made that up). But when you think about it, there are no hurricanes crashing into Racine. And it's not oppressively hot in the summer. And Miami Beach? Puh-leze! Lake Michigan, any day!
(Wait, have I been drinking again?)
Forget the beach life of south Florida. Gotta stay true to my roots. After all, the Midwest farmer's daughters, they really make you feel alright.
Advantage: Clay
Major
Clay has a major declared, Brown doesn't. But trust me, as someone who spent the better part of three years as an undeclared major, there are some perks. Take all sorts of classes with cool-sounding names (Comparative Politics of Sports as one example) and generally slack off. John Clay is a Human Development and Family Studies major. Very respectable.
Advantage: Push
Namesake
Clay and Brown are important names in American history. Henry Clay authored the Missouri Compromise, which delayed the start of the Civil War some 10 years. Brown v. Board of Education was probably the most important Supreme Court case in American history.
Advantage: Brown
So there you have it. A very unscientific breakdown of the backup tailback position from a totally trivial angle. But in the end, the "Tale of the Tape" sides with Brown. As long as it's not a bench-press competition.