Batch and Clay hoping to join Steelers’ crowded backfield

Associated Press

LATROBE, Pa.

John Clay kept waiting for the phone to ring during the NFL Draft in April.

One round passed. Then a day. Then three.

The former Wisconsin running back never saw his name pop up on the ticker through seven excruciating rounds and 224 picks.

He didn’t anticipate not getting selected, not after running for more than 2,500 yards and 32 touchdowns during his sophomore and junior seasons at Wisconsin, his 6-foot-1, 248-pound frame serving as a battering ram behind the team’s massive offensive line.

He left school a year early, figuring he was a lock.

He wasn’t, but Clay says it may be the best thing that happened to his career.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be in camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the “perfect” place for him to prove the doubters wrong.

“You definitely want to use that as motivation,” Clay said. “You want to show that you can play at this level.”

Playing in the NFL and staying in the NFL are two different things. The defending AFC champions appear to be just about set at running back.

Rashard Mendenhall is firmly entrenched at the top after consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Isaac Redman and third-down specialist Mewelde Moore are next.

After that, things get murky. At 5-11 and 235 lbs., second-year man Jonathan Dwyer would seem to fit the mold of the “big” back, yet didn’t exactly distinguish himself last year.

There appears to be room for a rookie to make some headway, although the newcomer creating the biggest buzz during the first week of camp isn’t Clay but Baron Batch.

Though Batch’s college numbers were ordinary next to Clay’s, he did manage to get drafted.

The Steelers chose Batch in the final round, intrigued by his versatility.

Batch ran for 816 yards and five touchdowns last year while adding 32 receptions and three more scores.

“The fans that saw me in college, they would say, ‘He runs hard, he’s tough,”’ Batch said. “I’m just going to show [the Steelers] what they saw when they drafted me.”