Up close or from afar, Gordon keeps watchful eye on his Badgers
December 30, 2015 | Football, Andy Baggot
Chargers rookie drops in on former teammates during bowl prep in San Diego
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
SAN DIEGO — Slowly but surely, Melvin Gordon made his way around the perimeter of the practice field, stopping at various points to shake hands and embrace old friends on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.
Gordon has certainly not forgotten those he left behind when he opted for a career in the NFL over a final season with the Wisconsin football team. In fact, the former record-setting tailback — the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2014 — has kept close tabs on those in the program even though he's taken his gifts 2,000 miles away.
"This is the class I came in with," he said of the 16 fifth-year seniors. "I know a lot of these guys.
"I definitely follow them a lot. I'd follow them any ways because I'm a Badger, part of Badger Nation."
Of course, he is.
Gordon parlayed one of the greatest college football seasons ever into a job with the San Diego Chargers. He was taken 15th overall in the 2015 NFL Draft after rushing 343 times for 2,587 yards — the second-most in Football Bowl Subdivision history — and scoring 32 touchdowns on the way to being named a unanimous, consensus first-team All-American in 2014.
Along the way Gordon, from Kenosha, set a single-game school record with 408 rushing yards and established the FBS career standard with a per-carry average of 7.79 yards.
It was a bit of serendipity that brought Gordon and his former teammates together. The 23rd-ranked Badgers (9-3 overall) came to his backyard last week to get ready to challenge Southern California (8-5) in the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday night at Qualcomm Stadium.
Gordon had some unwanted time on his hands to visit a recent practice. He was placed on injured reserve after sustaining an injury to his left knee Dec. 20, one that will require surgery to repair torn cartilage.
Had Gordon stuck around Madison for his final year of eligibility and remained healthy, the Wisconsin offense would look a good deal different than it has this season under first-year coach Paul Chryst.
Not that Chryst has anything against a robust rushing attack. On the contrary, he'd much rather feature the power run game as he did while serving as offensive coordinator of the Badgers from 2005-11.
But injuries in the backfield, specifically to junior tailback Corey Clement that cost him eight games, and a host of issues on the offensive line forced Chryst to rely more heavily on senior quarterback Joel Stave and the passing game.
That helps explain why Wisconsin has 2,305 fewer rushing yards at this juncture under Chryst than it did last year in the final season of the Gary Andersen era.
That explains why the Badgers are on pace to have a wide receiver, Alex Erickson, finish with more receiving yards than any of the nine running backs who carried the ball during the regular season. That's only happened twice since 1990.
"It's definitely different," Gordon said.
With Clement largely unavailable due to a sports hernia — he's expected to play against the Trojans — it left the bulk of the rushing duties to junior Dare Ogunbowale, a converted defensive back, and two untested newcomers: redshirt freshman Taiwan Deal and true freshman Alec Ingold.
The offensive line began the season with two accomplished veterans — senior left tackle Tyler Marz and junior center Dan Voltz — surrounded by question marks.
When Wisconsin lines up to engage USC, it will be Marz accompanied by four redshirt freshmen because Voltz is out for the season with a foot injury.
"It's really rebuilding, sad to say," Gordon said.
"We're young. We lost Dan Voltz. We lost Corey; that was definitely big. Dare came in and stepped up and did what he needed to do, but Corey's a big factor."
Clement came into the season the heir apparent to Gordon, but after rushing for 547 yards as a true freshman and 949 as a sophomore, Clement has been limited to 29 carries for 155 yards this season.
"Guys really look up to him and he was accustomed to being the workhorse of this offense," Gordon said of Clement.
Given all those issues, how does Gordon explain the possibility that the Badgers could win 10 games?
"Big plays and guys stepping up," he said. "It's perseverance. We still got that determination. Guys really want it and they found a way to make plays.
"The seniors led these guys to be in this position right here. It's going to take all of them — the old guys and the young guys — to get this win.
"I haven't watched (the Trojans) on film, but this is USC, man. They got some guys that can make plays."
Gordon will be on the Wisconsin sideline, walking with a limp, instead of preparing with his Chargers teammates for their regular-season finale at Denver on Sunday. Of course, he'd rather be working, but fate had other plans.
"It was already going bad," Gordon said of the knee, which he injured while being tackled against Miami. "This made things a little bit worse."
Gordon finished his rookie year with less-than-stellar numbers and the nagging truth that he didn't cross the goal line once. He carried 184 times for 641 yards (3.5 per carry) and added 33 receptions for 192 yards.
"It's just a learning curve,'' Gordon said of his first NFL season. "It didn't come out how I expected it to, but I'm not going to let that spoil my career."
San Diego has an elite quarterback in Philip Rivers and some excellent receivers, but its offensive line struggled for much of the season.
"I've got some great coaches, some great teammates that are going to push me to be who I want to be," Gordon said.
"But the rookie year is a learning experience — learning who you are, how to work how to be a pro, how to go about your business. Definitely different than college, man."
Standing on a practice field near Qualcomm Stadium, Gordon said he's not at all caught up in the fate of the Chargers franchise. There are reports the team could be on the move to Los Angeles.
"My job is to go out there, hear Phil's play calls and go make plays," Gordon said. "My job is really to focus on where we're going to be. At the end of the day, football's football. We'll play wherever."
