[lawrence-newsletter]
Corey Clement came to Wisconsin in 2013 as a four-star running back and the fifth-highest recruit from his home state of New Jersey.
The Glassboro, N.J. product took no time finding a role for coach Gary Andersen’s team and he finished his freshman season with 547 rushing yards, good for third-highest on the team, a clip of 8.2 yards-per-carry and seven touchdowns in only eight games.
Clement then saw his role increase his sophomore season, still under Andersen, as he went on to play in all 14 games and carry the ball 147 times for 949 yards, 6.5 yards-per-carry and nine touchdowns in addition to catching 14 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
The running back’s development and upward trajectory pointed towards an extremely productive year entering his junior season in 2015. Unfortunately, due to injuries Clement only saw the field during four games during the campaign and finished with just 48 carries for 221 yards.
Then along came 2016, the season that got Clement’s foot in the door at the next level.
Clement carried the ball 314 times during the impressive 11-3 season for the Badgers and finished the year with 1375 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground in addition to 12 catches for 132 receiving yards, good all together for over 1500 yards from scrimmage on 326 touches.
While Clement’s impressive career totals of 3092 yards and 36 touchdowns do not compare to those of former Badger greats at the position including Melvin Gordon III, Montee Ball, James White and Jonathan Taylor, his senior year performance caught the eyes of the NFL scouts and helped to get him signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent.
Despite Philadelphia having a plethora of running backs in their preseason training camp, the former Badger made the team as the fifth running back and special teamer. Then, thanks to some breaks and a few highlight plays, Clement found his way into the starting rotation and capitalized on his opportunity.
These breaks included a season-ending injury to veteran Darren Sproles and overall poor play from other running backs Donnel Pumphrey and Wendell Smallwood. And the highlight play, seen at the end of the drive in the video below, became Clement’s breakthrough moment as he became the go-to third down back for coach Doug Pederson’s offense.
Foreseen by nobody as the season approached, Clement landing in Philadelphia created a perfect storm for the former Badger as the Eagles went on to win the Super Bowl and he received the opportunity to produce on the world’s biggest stage, production which came via a different method than that from his college career.
Everybody knows that Clement was the guy who took the direct snap during Pederson’s famous “Philly Special” and set the play in motion. What isn’t as recognized from the game is his four catches for a team-leading 100 receiving yards and an incredible receiving touchdown midway through the third quarter, numbers which made him the runner-up in the Super Bowl MVP award race behind quarterback Nick Foles.
Unlike in college when he was utilized mostly in the ground game, Philadelphia’s Super Bowl game plan saw Clement receive five targets for, again, four catches, 100 yards and an impressive touchdown.
This performance was more than enough to solidify the former Badger’s roster spot on the team the following year as the Eagles looked to return to Super Bowl glory.
After his rookie year success, the 2018 and 2019 campaigns became a completely different story for Clement.
In addition to finding himself third on the running back depth chart to start the 2018 season, Clement’s production and efficiency dropped significantly during the playing time he did receive before he experienced a season-ending knee injury in Week 12.
Clement’s final touch during the Week 12 contest in Dallas, a four yard loss, became the final rush he would receive with the Eagles as he proceeded to miss the rest of the 2018 season and find himself on the injured reserve again in 2019 after he suffered a shoulder in Week 2.
After a promising start to his Eagle career as a rookie, Clement quickly lost footing with the team and after the 2019 season became an unrestricted free agent.
As of today the former Badger remains unsigned, though I will not be surprised if he receives another shot in the league with a training camp invite come August.