In today's "Five Minutes with Roob," Reuben Frank chats with Eagles rookie running back Corey Clement:
Roob
Welcome to Philly, Corey. Not far from your hometown of Glassboro, New Jersey. Were you an Eagles fan growing up?
Corey Clement
I watched all the great running backs come through here and just getting a taste of what it actually feels like is pretty awesome. Just living out a childhood dream and going out here every day working and competing and trying to make a name for myself.
Roob
There've been so many great running backs from South Jersey - Franco Harris, Lydell Mitchell, Ron Dayne, Avon Cobourne, Albert Young, Mike Rozier, etc. But in the middle of your senior year, in a game against Highland, you became the all-time leading rusher in South Jersey history, breaking Young's record, and finished your high school career with a South Jersey-record 6,245 yards. To be the best out of that group, what does that mean to you?
Corey Clement
It felt great and just to keep looking back, now five years since high school, to look back and know my name is still printed on a plaque that holds the record, that means a lot to me. I got to thank my teammates and friends who helped me the whole way. I still talk to them today. Just doing what I do best, playing football and having fun.
Roob
OK, let's talk about the game against Gloucester your senior year in high school. You had just 14 carries but ran for 479 yards, which broke the South Jersey single-game record of 452 yards set by Wildwood's Wesley Hills against Maple Shade actually earlier in the day. Did you know during the game how many yards you were piling up?
Corey Clement
I didn't know until we reached the third quarter and they sat me out the fourth quarter and I was kind of upset. I was like, ‘Just let me get 500 yards.' Nobody can ever say, ‘I rushed for 500 yards in a single game.' That's half a thousand. But that was really an awesome game.
Roob
After graduating from Glassboro, you went to the University of Wisconsin, where another South Jersey star running back, Ron Dayne, once won the Heisman Trophy, but you weren't a starter right away. You started out splitting time with Melvin Gordon, who wound up as the 15th pick in the 2015 draft and is now with the Chargers. What did you learn sharing time with Melvin early in your college career?
Corey Clement
I think not being 'the man' right away made me become even more patient and allowed my game to progress into the young man I wanted to be, especially a role model on and off the field. He taught me a lot of his techniques that helped propel him into the NFL. Once he left, I tried to pick up his pace and keep it moving and hopefully I get the same (opportunity) here but at the same time you've got to just compete with everybody, nothing's going to be handed to you, you've got to work and remember to have fun because if you don't, you're just going to dig yourself into a hole.
Roob
You didn't get drafted. What was your reaction to that?
Philadelphia Eagles
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia Eagles and their NFL rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Corey Clement
I was kind of confused at that point and questioned my own skills. I figured I'm an NFL talent, why didn't anyone pick me up? But at the same time, I just used it as fuel to my fire and really prove everybody wrong that I should have been picked up and just create my story into a better path and proving a lot of people wrong.
Roob
Today was Day 1 for you at your first NFL training camp. How did it go for you?
Corey Clement
Feels great. After coming back after a good break, really conditioned myself to come back. Lost about five pounds and just getting myself into NFL-ready shape and showing the coaching staff that I really care about this business and really want to put the Eagles in the best position possible, whether it's helping them clinch the playoffs or doing something beyond the regular season. Anybody can come to practice but it's about being consistent and doing your job every day.
Roob
OK, let's finish with this. There was another running back from Glassboro High School back in the 1980s named Gordie Lockbaum. Great high school player and went to Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he played both ways - running back on offense, safety on defense - and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting as a junior. Glassboro also produced a running back named Sean Redman, who wound up playing at Penn State. So which one of you is the greatest running back in Glassboro history?
Corey Clement
I gotta give it to Gordie. If anything, he's helped us younger guys look up to him and how to work. If it wasn't for him, maybe I wouldn't be the all-time leader in that category, so I've got to give it to him, and hopefully I can keep passing the torch to somebody else to look up to me next.
