Last season was somewhat of a tumultuous one in the Wisconsin backfield following the departure of Heisman finalist Melvin Gordon, as Corey Clement was poised to take the reigns of the perennial powerhouse that is the Wisconsin running game.
With his sights set on the future and the next level, Clement experienced setbacks that not only derailed his junior season at Wisconsin, but for the time being, his clean path to the National Football League. In the aftermath, a new and widely unknown face took over the Badger backfield: Dare Ogunbowale.
Ogunbowale’s path to the backfield at UW was more of a backcountry road, particularly when compared to the interstate highway that his colleague Clement and other highly touted prospects traveled on their way to the grand theatre that is Division 1 college football. Ogunbowale, however, still finds himself a part of a long-standing tradition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison: the proud tradition of the walk-on.
The walk-on program at Wisconsin was started in 1990 by Barry Alvarez in the mold of Nebraska, his alma mater, under Tom Osborne. It has fostered Badger legends such as Mark Tauscher, Luke Swan, Jim Leonhard and J.J. Watt who have found enormous success when given an opportunity to play for the Cardinal and White, vaulting many to successful careers in the NFL.
Running backs coach John Settle, who is entering his second year at Wisconsin, has been equally impressed by Ogunbowale’s performance as well as the intangibles he brings to the table.
“He never looked back, he never said ‘I wish.’ He came in, he studied, applied himself and learned the offense,” Settle said. “Being a smart player, he was able to learn and pick it up quickly. We didn’t know when the season started he was going to be the guy.”
As more players make the switch from defense to offense, such as Alec Ingold and Leon Jacobs, Ogunbowale has become a model not just for defenders moving to running back, but also a shining example for the entire team of what you can do with an opportunity if you have the right attitude.
“I think guys on the team see him as a guy who came in on the other side of the ball, not even in the conversation of playing, but worked himself into a position,” Settle said. “Every opportunity that you get is the best opportunity.”
Clement, in dramatically different fashion, has dominated the position of running back dating back to his high school career at Glassboro High in New Jersey, where he accumulated 6,245 rushing yards and 90 total touchdowns in his four years. He also broke the single-game state rushing record with a 479-yard performance.
For his efforts, he garnered first-team all-state honors as a junior and drew national attention early and often, receiving in total 15 offers from major schools such as Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Iowa, Florida State, Notre Dame and, of course, Wisconsin. Following visits to both Nebraska and Notre Dame, Clement visited Madison and committed two weeks later in October 2012.
“He’s got it all. He’s a strong back but he’s also got great speed,” Ogunbowale said of his teammate. “The ability to do it all is probably his biggest strength.”
Ogunbowale, a high honors student through all four years at Marquette University High School, wasn’t heavily recruited like his counterpart. In fact, he really wasn’t recruited at all.
Ogunbowale, who was elected as a member of his high school’s Leadership Council, didn’t play football until his junior year and did so as a defensive back. His natural abilities made it a seemingly easy transition, as his senior year he was elected as a team captain and was named to the all-conference team as a defender after tallying 38 tackles and four takeaways.
At this point, Ogunbowale still didn’t play on the offensive side of the ball for his high school team, but did return kicks on occasion. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, his high school coach, Jeff Mazurczak, has said the biggest mistake they made was not playing him on offense.
Coming into the 2015 season, many around Madison expected it to be the “Corey Clement Show,” much like the previous year with Melvin Gordon in the backfield. However, after suffering a groin injury versus Alabama, which limited Clement to just eight carries for 16 yards in his highly anticipated junior year debut, Clement crossed the Atlantic Ocean, traveling to Munich, Germany to have sports hernia surgery.
He returned in triumphant fashion against Big Ten opponent Rutgers, notching 115 yards on just 11 carries. The stellar performance however, despite its limited nature, seemed to take its toll on Clement’s post-surgery condition, forcing him to miss the following game versus Maryland and undoubtedly contributing to a lackluster performance versus Northwestern the following week, in which he accumulated only 24 yards on 10 carries.
Clement took those trials and turned them into a refreshed outlook on his role as a college football teammate.
“Focus on the team and not yourself,” Clement retorted when asked what last season had taught him.
When asked about his changed outlook, which even led to a brief number change, from number 6 to number 24 and back again, Clement said he is “Focusing on the now and being happy that I’m a part of a great team who is also putting in all the hard work just like I am. It would be selfish of me to think about the next level.”
Had it only been injury that disrupted Clement’s 2015 campaign, it’s entirely possible that he would have moved onto the next level and bid adieu to Madison.
However, Clement found himself in more than just physical disrepair.
Following an altercation in his apartment lobby, Clement initially lied to Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst about his involvement in the matter. With only one game remaining in the regular season, Clement did not travel with the team to their final game in Minnesota. With the extra time off to reassess his role, many figured Clement would return for the Holiday Bowl at the end of December and be the Corey of old, but the feature back only managed 66 yards despite getting 19 touches in Wisconsin’s 23-21 win over USC.
With Clement sidelined, it put both Ogunbowale and himself in completely new roles and in a unique situation to learn from one another.
Clement said they helped each other through the tough times by “taking advice from one another and being open-minded and just not being selfish at all.”
Ogunbowale also helped Clement with his “mental toughness and his smartness,” according to Clement.
“Believe it or not I’m one of the guys that looks up to Dare, I’m sure he does to me as well,” Clement said. “I believe he can do anything he puts his mind to.”
When asked how the relationship has developed between himself and Corey from last season, Dare stated, “We are very close friends. We’ve gotten close obviously since I have been a running back but even before that we were pretty close friends. I hope the best for him, he hopes the best for me, so when one of us was down it wasn’t hard for us to get lifted up by one another. He’s definitely been helpful through the whole situation and I try to do the same for him.”
Clement, long considered the heir apparent, was put into the position of mentor, while Ogunbowale was suddenly not only in a completely new position, but also in a new situation, as he was now the lead back at a Big Ten school known for the position he held. Rather than let their obstacles and competitive nature drive them apart from one another, Clement and Ogunbowale turned it into an opportunity to learn from one another. Ogunbowale, a scholar and a natural leader, and Clement, a successful back with clear NFL potential: a match made in heaven.
“I think they’ve grown close together. I think some of the things that happened with Corey off the field has kind of given those two something to talk about, something to work through. Dare saw that as an opportunity to help a friend, help a brother, help a teammate,” Settle said. “It’s interesting, you see them coaching one another and at the same time knowing they are competing against each other. I think it’s brought them together but at the same time I think it’s brought the group together.”
Now entering a new season, both backs are at full speed and competing for reps in a deep and talented roster. Clement, the returning proven back, and Ogunbowale, last year’s knight in shining armor that helped salvage a tough season and an even tougher situation.
“This whole ride has been a lot different than I expected,” Ogunbowale said, reflecting on last season and the journey that led to this point. “It’s a privilege to be able to carry the ball at a school like Wisconsin with the past success we’ve had. I definitely don’t take that for granted and I try to go into each practice thinking that way.”
With the relationships in the backfield stronger than ever and with a full deck of cards, the Badger backfield is ready to return to its place as one of the best units in the Big Ten and perhaps the entire country.
Clement sees this as a plan, not a prediction, citing the new competitiveness at the position within the program.
“I think we can feed off one another and the competitiveness in us is only going to make us better each day,” Clement said.
Ogunbowale added, “That little bit more of experience brings more confidence, with the experience I had last year, I hope to build on that this season. Confidence is one of the best things a football player can have.”
