Clay shows why in first game

Want to know why John Clay is ranked as the nation's No. 6 running back prospect? Just look at what he did this past Friday night in a 30-6 victory.

"I had a good game," Clay, a powerful 6-foot, 222-pound rusher that is also ranked as the No. 56 player overall in the nation, said. "I had three touchdowns and 186 yards rushing. It was a good night."

Clay hopes his performance is an indication of what he'll see as a senior. He rushed for 2,032 yards in 2005 and around 1,500 yards in 2004, but he also knows teams are gunning for him and he's got a tough conference to face.

"We have a good conference, so pretty much all the teams in our conference are going to be good," Clay said. "Since we're the state champs, everyone will be bringing their 'A' game and gunning for us and stuff. We'll be ready. I'll be ready."

Clay said he's also ready for the phone calls to start to increase once again from the college coaches. Starting Friday, he knows his phone will be ringing off the hook with college coaches checking in with him.

He said he's likely going to line up some official visits with coaches when they call.

"I think I might want to go to visit Tennessee," Clay said. "We talked about going to that one for sure. My top schools are Wisconsin, Nebraska, Tennessee, Iowa, Iowa State and Ohio State. I'm thinking about making my commitment after the football season is over. I'd like to take some visits and compare some schools."

He said last week that he had narrowed his list to five schools – Wisconsin, Ohio State, Iowa, Tennessee and Nebraska. The Cyclones were the team he mentioned different in this group. For the longest time it's appeared that Wisconsin and Ohio State are the teams to beat with him.

"Both of them are about equal," Clay said. "I'd have a hard time picking one. I'm just going to have to pick a good program and somewhere I can go to get a good education."

Whichever team lands him, they're going to get a special back.

"I'm probably not the best running back in the nation, but I believe I am one of the best," he said. "I know there are other backs better than me at different things they do. They have different styles of running than me. I'm really good at reading my blocks, so that's something I bring to the table different than other guys."