Limited to only three games by a sports hernia injury, most pegged Wisconsin running back Corey Clement to return in 2016.
Still, nothing’s official until it’s official, and Clement made his return official on Tuesday, telling Wisconsin running backs coach John Settle he will indeed suit up for the Badgers next season.
“He knows he can’t leave,” Settle told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “I was relieved because as a coach you don’t want to see a guy make a bad decision.
“The fact he wasn’t healthy and struggled through the year...you look at his body of work and you say it would be great if you could come back and stay healthy and carry the load.
“So I was happy to hear that. And if he wants to make a Heisman run, he knows what he has to do.”
Clement picked over Melvin Gordon‘s leftovers in 2014 and still nearly rushed for 1,000 yards, following Gordon’s 2,587 yards and 29 touchdowns with 949 yards and nine scores on 147 totes. But an injury-plagued 2015 campaign saw Clement rack up only 29 carries for 155 yards and four scores.
He only looked and played like himself once this fall - a 11-carry, 115-yard, three-touchdown effort against Rutgers on Oct. 31.
The good news? Pairing a hopefully healthy Clement with returning runners Dare Ogunbowale and Taiwan Deal should give Wisconsin its typically-formidable ground attack in 2016.