BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — On first glance, Corey Clement's tweet was curious and cryptic.
"I got Him and He got Me … Coming soon, Real soon."
The Wisconsin tailback was asked to explain the Twitter message that he posted on Aug. 3.
"It's all about having one another's back," said Clement, a senior from Glassboro, New Jersey. "Coming off last season everyone could tell that was kind of a downfall for me."
A sports hernia kept Clement out of eight games and limited his effectiveness against Alabama, Rutgers and Northwestern. An ankle injury knocked him out of the Holiday Bowl in the second half.
That encapsulated his physical challenge. But the aforementioned "downfall" embodied something else, something less visible; and engendered the "backside," or trust, reference.
"It was the communication between me and Coach," Clement revealed. "We picked it up over the spring and this summer and I think we're both back on the same page with one another."
The coach in question was UW head coach Paul Chryst.
"Throughout the whole fiasco that I was involved in," Clement said of an off-field incident that resulted in him not traveling with the Badgers for their game at Minnesota, "there were some iffy moments.
"Having lied to him, I had to gain his trust back. Me and him have to see eye to eye for this team to be as good as we want to be.
"That's all I've wanted to do is to get back on the right page with him. I've worked to get to this point — to get his trust — and I'm not going to let him down."
On Sunday, the Badgers will open their 2016 training camp with a media availability and the annual Family Fun Day at Camp Randall Stadium. Clement can't wait to get started — what he sees as a fresh start.
"I don't think I left anything behind this summer," he said. "I accomplished everything I put on my agenda. I didn't let up at all and fought through some of the pain I was still kind of going through.
"I'm very proud that I PR'ed in most of my lifting and squatting and running tests. Me and Coach Kolodziej have had this mindset of putting it all out there."
Ross Kolodziej, a former UW defensive lineman, oversees the football weight room. Throughout the offseason, Clement tried to draw strength from Chryst, Kolodziej and running backs coach John Settle.
A big part of Clement's focus was on his inner strength.
"I have been trying to make better decisions on and off the field — just being more accountable for my actions," he said. "Being on the same page with one another is always a great thing."
In turning the page and writing a new chapter, Clement has utilized different motivations. Some have surfaced on his Twitter account @CoreyClement_6. He has 32.3 thousand followers.
Here are some examples.
Clement's tweet (July 28): "Remember to embrace the grind, never look back and say "If only I had just …"
That sounds pretty self-explanatory given his disappointing 2015 season.
"They're my inner thoughts that I've been going through with this whole process," he said. "I'm just thankful I will get a chance to run again. I can't take anything for granted.
"I have to lay it out there and whatever comes, it comes. I'm motivated by the guys around me. Vince (Biegel) is a great guy who believes in karma. If you do the right things on and off the field, good things will come in your favor. That relates to any aspect of what you're doing."
Outside linebacker Vince Biegel is a defensive catalyst and vocal leader of the senior class. Biegel, like Clement, also had aspirations of leaving school early and declaring for the NFL draft.
Clement's tweet (July 26): "Proud of @DGO23_! Speech was excellent! Nice job representing both the university and who else? The RB's HaHa?"
Senior tailback Dare Ogunbowale was the keynote speaker at the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon. Ogunbowale, Biegel and cornerback Sojourn Shelton represented the Badgers in Chicago.
The year before, Clement attended the event — along with safety Michael Caputo and quarterback Joel Stave — underlining the high expectations that everybody had for him as a junior.
Was Clement disappointed that he didn't get a chance to go back?
"No, not at all," he said, turning his attention to Ogunbowale's speech. "It was phenomenal. Clean and well-spoken. It's what you would expect from Dare. I didn't expect anything less."
What stood out for Clement was Ogunbowale's call for unity. As a team. As a society.
Clement's tweet (July 16): "Watching old high school film right now sure brings back memories … The good ole GBoro? Really had fun."
Clement was a dominating running back at Glassboro High School. As a senior, he set the New Jersey state record by rushing for 479 yards on just 18 carries against Gloucester City.
"I just wanted to look back (on his prep career) and remind myself to keep having fun playing the game and not worry about anything else until after the game," Clement said. "Be in the moment."
During his final season in South Jersey, he averaged 40.91 yards on his 34 rushing touchdowns.
Clement's tweet (July 13): "The number can't play for you. So all that don't matter … FOCUS"
During spring practice, Clement changed his jersey number. He went from No. 6 to No. 24.
"That was just being stupid," admitted Clement, who quickly switched back. "Why would I go away from the number I've been wearing since I was 5 years old?"
A rhetorical question.
"I'm not playing against numbers," he went on. "I'm playing against human beings."
Clement may have been suggesting that you can't put a number on performance — perhaps his way of rejecting the notion that if he doesn't rush for 1,000 yards, it would be a letdown.
"I can't buy into it," he said.
LSU tailback Leonard Fournette put up huge numbers last season. Fournette led the nation in rushing with a 162.8 average per game. By comparison, Heisman winner Derrick Henry averaged 147.9.
On July 25, Clement retweeted Fournette: "I only want positive people around me."
Clement definitely bought into that sentiment.
"That's the kind of message that you want to give," he said. "We already have enough stress in this world and you don't need any more by bringing any negativity around yourself.
"Even though we're battling each other in the first game," Clement said of the Badgers' opener against LSU at Lambeau Field, "I retweeted that out of respect because he is giving the right message."
Clement has watched a lot of film on Fournette.
"You'd have to be blind not to see the skill set that he brings to the table," Clement said. "I actually got a chance to message him his freshman year and just wished him good luck."
In mid-July, a couple of days apart, Clement retweeted two NFL players.
One was former UW teammate Melvin Gordon: "Never let no man break you mentally!!!"
Gordon, a first-round draft choice, is entering his second year with the San Diego Chargers. Gordon fell well short of his own expectations and what others had for him as a rookie.
Clement also retweeted New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr.: "Never take anything for granted … It could all be gone tomorrow. Always remember that."
That really hit close to home for the 5-11, 227-pound Clement.
"I was thinking that I was going to have one of the best seasons of my career last year," he said. "And, then, it was taken away from me due to injury and off-the-field issues as well."
Maybe the most telling Clement tweet was posted in early May.
It may have been a declaration and a warning, "Oh please don't sleep on me."
When asked about it, he singled out the Badgers as a whole and noted that you won't find Wisconsin listed among the top teams in college football going into the season.
"It's motivation," he insisted.
You won't find Clement listed nationally among the top tailbacks, either.
"Last year, I was in the Top 10," he pointed out. "This year, I'm barely mentioned."
He can't control the preseason player rankings, not coming off the season that he just had.
But if people are "sleeping" on him, he has four words for them.
"I haven't left yet," he said.
