Clay’s big day close to home
Posted on Sunday, November 2, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE — Charles Clay’s jaw was clenched tight in agony, but he refused to cry out.
Clay, from Little Rock Central, who was being racked with severe cramps, did allow teammates Damaris Johnson and Tarrion Adams to carry him to the locker room, which seemed appropriate. Clay spent most of Saturday afternoon carrying his team as far as his legs would allow.
Clay, Tulsa’s 6-3, 225-pound sophomore fullback, did everything he could to make Arkansas regret not locking him up early in the recruiting process with one of the best games of his Golden Hurricane career.
He finished with 7 receptions for 117 yards and 1 touchdown and 2 carries for 31 yards and another touchdown.
Arkansas didn’t give Clay serious attention until other schools, including Tulsa, offered him a scholarship. But after Saturday’s 30-23 loss to the Razorbacks, Clay said stepping on the field at Reynolds Razorback Stadium wasn’t the primary motivating factor.
He just wanted to stay undefeated.
“This was the biggest game of the year,” Clay said. “[Coaches told us ] to stay focused and don’t get caught up in all the hype.”
The hype resulted not just from Clay’s homecoming, but also that of Nashville native A. J. Whitmore, former Fort Smith Southside star Slick Shelley and former Arkansas offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, now coaching on Tulsa’s sideline.
Plus, there was the little sidelight involving Clay’s father, also named Charles Clay, who lettered as a tight end for the Razorbacks from 1975-1978.
“It was good to come back home,” Clay said. “The environment was great, just like I knew it would be. Me and A. J. and Slick, we’ve been waiting for this game. To lose is heartbreaking.”
Whitmore carried eight times, most often out of the Wildcat formation so well known to Arkansas fans, for 38 yards and figured heavily in the drive that decided the game.
With Tulsa trailing 30-23 with less than two minutes remaining and facing a second-and-3 at the Arkansas 5, Whitmore ran up the middle for 1 yard. On third-and-2, again taking the direct snap out of the Wildcat, Whitmore lost 3 yards, which led to an incomplete fourth-down pass and an Arkansas victory.
“It was a good play call; they had just seen it often so they were ready for it,” Whitmore said when asked about his two consecutive runs.
“We ran that Wildcat and he almost popped it,” Malzahn said. “We had a lot of success pacing them, and I thought we had a good chance at getting them tired out, but it didn’t work. [On fourth down ] we tried to get the ball to our best guy [Trae Johnson ], and that didn’t work out.”
Malzahn was careful all week, trying to deflect any attention from his return to the Arkansas sidelines, much as Mississippi Coach Houston Nutt did the previous week prior to his return to Fayetteville.
Malzahn was much more reticent than Nutt when asked to describe his thoughts after his new team’s game.
“Maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to think about that. Right now I’m just really disappointed,” Malzahn said. “I’m sure later on I’ll be able to think more clearly on that.”
Malzahn, Tulsa’s co-offensive coordinator and associate head coach, had little time to think of any Arkansas reunions the way that the Razorbacks defense was shutting down what was the most prolific offense in the country.
Tulsa finished with 528 total yards of offense, below its 601. 1 yards-per-game average, and was held more than 33 points below its scoring average.
Clay, who caught 69 passes and scored eight touchdowns while earning freshman All-America honors last season, was the Golden Hurricane’s main threat, something he hasn’t been in recent weeks while being slowed with an ankle injury.
Clay’s per-games averages had dwindled to 35 receiving yards and 13. 7 rushing yards, but he was heavily involved in the offense Saturday, scoring both of his touchdowns in the second quarter, on a 28-yard run and a 2-yard touchdown reception that tied the score at 20.
Clay is listed as a fullback but lines up in the slot, and he often plays the role of a second tight end.
Tulsa Coach Todd Graham said Clay can expect his role to continue to increase for the team that wanted him first.
“I thought Charles was unbelievable,” Graham said. “He’s definitely a big-time player. Being in this venue meant a lot to him, and he stepped up and proved he was a big-time player.”
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