Lucas: Spalding understands “the standard” at RBU
February 27, 2023 | Football, Mike Lucas
First-year running backs coach appreciates history and tradition of position at UW
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. – Breaking down the Illinois State defense on tape before last November's game, Youngstown State assistant Devon Spalding couldn't help but take note of the Big Ten tailback flashing across the screen on a 96-yard touchdown run against the Redbirds in the 2022 season opener.
It was not the first time Spalding had gotten a glimpse of Braelon Allen.
"I saw him a couple of years back when he had power cleaned all that weight. I forget how much it was, like 405 pounds or something like that," Spalding said. "I was obviously very impressed with that. I clicked on his bio and found out that he was a running back. That was a little crazy."
It gets crazier.
"Now, I'm coaching the kid," Spalding said.
As Wisconsin's running backs coach, Spalding has come full circle with Luke Fickell. Four years ago, he was thinking about training for the NFL draft with the hope of extending his playing career. But he opted instead to take his first job in the profession as a graduate assistant on Fickell's staff at Cincinnati.
"I think he's the best head football coach in the country," said Spalding, who has spent the last three seasons at Youngstown State. "Being able to reunite with him now, being able to be a full-time guy on his staff here is almost a dream come true."
So is taking over this position group at RBU.
"Being a part of a place that has such a great tradition in running back play, the challenge is to continue to recruit the best running backs in the country and make sure the production that we put on the field on Saturdays from the running back room is up to par to what they've done here in the past.
"We have a standard that we set in that room," Spalding said of his initial message to the players. "The expectations of production are very high. Everything we do is tailor-made towards one thing and that's being the best unit in the country in everything we do."
On the field. Or off. In the classroom. Or out. "We want to be the absolute best at what we're doing," he reiterated. As it was, before meeting Allen for the first time on campus, his only references were of him at his best – in the weight-lifting video and Wisconsin's 38-0 win over Illinois State.
"He does a really nice job of being humble," Spalding said. "He's a really good football player but he carries himself very professionally. His work ethic is phenomenal. He does a really good job of rallying the troops in that room. Him and Chez Mellusi, they do a great job of being leaders."
When Spalding steps into his Camp Randall Stadium office, he's reminded of UW's proud running back tradition and culture which has produced the likes of Ron Dayne, the 1999 Heisman winner, Jonathan Taylor, Montee Ball, Melvin Gordon, Anthony Davis, James White and now Allen.
There are many more quality tailbacks on the list, too. "In my office," Spalding said, "there's actually pictures framed of all the great running backs who have played at Wisconsin." He noted the art gallery is punctuated with a short, declarative thought, "On top of it all, it says 'Tailback U.'"
What separates good from very good or even great at the position? Responding from his perspective as a coach, and former college tailback, Spalding said, "There's really only one ingredient and that's want-to – the work ethic that you have to have in order to be a really good running back."
Knowing results and bottom lines are just that, he continued, "Obviously, you have to produce, right? But I think your work ethic and how hard you work and how much extra work you put in is directly tied in with the production that you're going to get on Saturdays."
&&&
From the time that Spalding left John Glenn High School (Westland, Michigan) – where he once rushed for 491 yards in a game – he was determined to outwork everybody to get on the field at Central Michigan. But there was one problem. He couldn't stay on the field. He was injury prone.
"The number one thing that helped me to do is learn how to battle adversity," he said. "I never once made it through a season healthy. It was always major injuries. I broke my collarbone twice. I broke both of my ankles twice. I tore both labrums. I slipped a disk in my back. I broke my foot.
"Being able to understand how hard it is to get to the point that you want to be at (starting games) …only for it to get taken away from you that fast," he said, detailing the frustration, "it helped me out a lot with being able to learn how to fight through situations.
"There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to find the positive in every situation that you're part of. Going through all of those things that I went through in college really helped me and continues to help me be the man that I am today."
As a Central Michigan freshman (2014) he was the second leading rusher with 371 yards and four touchdowns. As a sophomore, he started three times before breaking his collarbone. Bouncing back in 2016, he rushed for a team-high 765 yards and six scores. Then the reoccurring theme. He got hurt.
The 5-11, 205-pound Spalding eventually wound up playing wide receiver as a fifth-year senior. Throughout the ebb and flow, the highs of competing and lows of rehabbing, there were people in Spalding's corner that made a difference in developing his approach and attitude towards setbacks.
One of them was Jason Novak, who was then the director of strength and conditioning at Central Michigan. Novak is now serving in the same role at Michigan State. Armed with more than a decade of NFL experience (Tennessee), he impacted the way Spalding processed things mentally.
"He would always make sure my spirits were where they needed to be," Spalding said. "We would have a lot of one-on-one conversations. I look at him as if he's a father in my life – I grew up without having one. But that's the guy that always ensured that my mind was where it needed to be.
"The sport has just done so much for me. I went to college for free and I'm very thankful for that. Like I said, I grew up without a father. But I've looked at all of my football coaches as if they were my father figures. Honestly, that's why I'm coaching.
"I'm giving back to the game that has given so much to me and helped me become who I am. Knowing that injuries are possible and knowing that I was injury prone, I still wouldn't have changed a thing."
Gino Guidugli was coaching the Central Michigan running backs during the formative stages of Spalding's career in Mount Pleasant. Guidugli schooled Spalding on the nuances of the game, the X's and O's. In this context, he was a trusted mentor who influenced his decision to get into coaching.
"He said to me, 'I think you really have a bright future being a football coach,'" Spalding recalled. "That's where my entire mind frame shifted. Being around him and him taking the time to teach me about the game of football really pointed me in that direction.
"I wanted to be like him, and I wanted to coach like him."
So much so he re-joined Guidugli in Cincinnati. When Spalding had first brought up the slim prospect of getting into an NFL camp for a tryout, Guidugli countered with a reality check. "If you do this (GA), I think you'll have really good opportunities ahead,'" Spalding related. "That's how it happened."
And that's why Spalding is in Madison and Guidugli almost was (he was set to join Fickell but has since taken a job at Notre Dame). On Wisconsin's offensive staff, Spalding has already built a foundation and a connection with wide receiver coach Mike Brown, another ex-UC assistant.
Spalding was Brown's GA with the Bearcats. "I learned a lot about the wide receiver position – he taught me a ton," Spalding said. "The translation from that position (wideout) to the running back position is very close. Obviously, you have to be able to catch the football …"
Especially in Phi Longo's offense, the Air Raid. Or the Badger variation thereof.
"At the end of the day, we're going to attack where the defense is most vulnerable," Spalding said. "If we have to throw the football 70 times to be able to score points, we're going to do that. If we have to run the football 70 times, we're going to do that. I love his approach, I love his philosophy.
"He has a lot of confidence and all of that confidence is very warranted because he's had success everywhere that he has been. He has a lot of passion and enthusiasm about the offense that he runs and about the plans and the vision that he has for Wisconsin football moving forward."
And now Spalding is part of that vision. And Fickell's. It has all been a little crazy. In a good way.
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. – Breaking down the Illinois State defense on tape before last November's game, Youngstown State assistant Devon Spalding couldn't help but take note of the Big Ten tailback flashing across the screen on a 96-yard touchdown run against the Redbirds in the 2022 season opener.
It was not the first time Spalding had gotten a glimpse of Braelon Allen.
"I saw him a couple of years back when he had power cleaned all that weight. I forget how much it was, like 405 pounds or something like that," Spalding said. "I was obviously very impressed with that. I clicked on his bio and found out that he was a running back. That was a little crazy."
It gets crazier.
"Now, I'm coaching the kid," Spalding said.
As Wisconsin's running backs coach, Spalding has come full circle with Luke Fickell. Four years ago, he was thinking about training for the NFL draft with the hope of extending his playing career. But he opted instead to take his first job in the profession as a graduate assistant on Fickell's staff at Cincinnati.
"I think he's the best head football coach in the country," said Spalding, who has spent the last three seasons at Youngstown State. "Being able to reunite with him now, being able to be a full-time guy on his staff here is almost a dream come true."
So is taking over this position group at RBU.
"Being a part of a place that has such a great tradition in running back play, the challenge is to continue to recruit the best running backs in the country and make sure the production that we put on the field on Saturdays from the running back room is up to par to what they've done here in the past.
"We have a standard that we set in that room," Spalding said of his initial message to the players. "The expectations of production are very high. Everything we do is tailor-made towards one thing and that's being the best unit in the country in everything we do."
On the field. Or off. In the classroom. Or out. "We want to be the absolute best at what we're doing," he reiterated. As it was, before meeting Allen for the first time on campus, his only references were of him at his best – in the weight-lifting video and Wisconsin's 38-0 win over Illinois State.
"He does a really nice job of being humble," Spalding said. "He's a really good football player but he carries himself very professionally. His work ethic is phenomenal. He does a really good job of rallying the troops in that room. Him and Chez Mellusi, they do a great job of being leaders."
When Spalding steps into his Camp Randall Stadium office, he's reminded of UW's proud running back tradition and culture which has produced the likes of Ron Dayne, the 1999 Heisman winner, Jonathan Taylor, Montee Ball, Melvin Gordon, Anthony Davis, James White and now Allen.
There are many more quality tailbacks on the list, too. "In my office," Spalding said, "there's actually pictures framed of all the great running backs who have played at Wisconsin." He noted the art gallery is punctuated with a short, declarative thought, "On top of it all, it says 'Tailback U.'"
What separates good from very good or even great at the position? Responding from his perspective as a coach, and former college tailback, Spalding said, "There's really only one ingredient and that's want-to – the work ethic that you have to have in order to be a really good running back."
Knowing results and bottom lines are just that, he continued, "Obviously, you have to produce, right? But I think your work ethic and how hard you work and how much extra work you put in is directly tied in with the production that you're going to get on Saturdays."
&&&
From the time that Spalding left John Glenn High School (Westland, Michigan) – where he once rushed for 491 yards in a game – he was determined to outwork everybody to get on the field at Central Michigan. But there was one problem. He couldn't stay on the field. He was injury prone.
"The number one thing that helped me to do is learn how to battle adversity," he said. "I never once made it through a season healthy. It was always major injuries. I broke my collarbone twice. I broke both of my ankles twice. I tore both labrums. I slipped a disk in my back. I broke my foot.
"Being able to understand how hard it is to get to the point that you want to be at (starting games) …only for it to get taken away from you that fast," he said, detailing the frustration, "it helped me out a lot with being able to learn how to fight through situations.
"There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to find the positive in every situation that you're part of. Going through all of those things that I went through in college really helped me and continues to help me be the man that I am today."
As a Central Michigan freshman (2014) he was the second leading rusher with 371 yards and four touchdowns. As a sophomore, he started three times before breaking his collarbone. Bouncing back in 2016, he rushed for a team-high 765 yards and six scores. Then the reoccurring theme. He got hurt.
The 5-11, 205-pound Spalding eventually wound up playing wide receiver as a fifth-year senior. Throughout the ebb and flow, the highs of competing and lows of rehabbing, there were people in Spalding's corner that made a difference in developing his approach and attitude towards setbacks.
One of them was Jason Novak, who was then the director of strength and conditioning at Central Michigan. Novak is now serving in the same role at Michigan State. Armed with more than a decade of NFL experience (Tennessee), he impacted the way Spalding processed things mentally.
"He would always make sure my spirits were where they needed to be," Spalding said. "We would have a lot of one-on-one conversations. I look at him as if he's a father in my life – I grew up without having one. But that's the guy that always ensured that my mind was where it needed to be.
"The sport has just done so much for me. I went to college for free and I'm very thankful for that. Like I said, I grew up without a father. But I've looked at all of my football coaches as if they were my father figures. Honestly, that's why I'm coaching.
"I'm giving back to the game that has given so much to me and helped me become who I am. Knowing that injuries are possible and knowing that I was injury prone, I still wouldn't have changed a thing."
Gino Guidugli was coaching the Central Michigan running backs during the formative stages of Spalding's career in Mount Pleasant. Guidugli schooled Spalding on the nuances of the game, the X's and O's. In this context, he was a trusted mentor who influenced his decision to get into coaching.
"He said to me, 'I think you really have a bright future being a football coach,'" Spalding recalled. "That's where my entire mind frame shifted. Being around him and him taking the time to teach me about the game of football really pointed me in that direction.
"I wanted to be like him, and I wanted to coach like him."
So much so he re-joined Guidugli in Cincinnati. When Spalding had first brought up the slim prospect of getting into an NFL camp for a tryout, Guidugli countered with a reality check. "If you do this (GA), I think you'll have really good opportunities ahead,'" Spalding related. "That's how it happened."
And that's why Spalding is in Madison and Guidugli almost was (he was set to join Fickell but has since taken a job at Notre Dame). On Wisconsin's offensive staff, Spalding has already built a foundation and a connection with wide receiver coach Mike Brown, another ex-UC assistant.
Spalding was Brown's GA with the Bearcats. "I learned a lot about the wide receiver position – he taught me a ton," Spalding said. "The translation from that position (wideout) to the running back position is very close. Obviously, you have to be able to catch the football …"
Especially in Phi Longo's offense, the Air Raid. Or the Badger variation thereof.
"At the end of the day, we're going to attack where the defense is most vulnerable," Spalding said. "If we have to throw the football 70 times to be able to score points, we're going to do that. If we have to run the football 70 times, we're going to do that. I love his approach, I love his philosophy.
"He has a lot of confidence and all of that confidence is very warranted because he's had success everywhere that he has been. He has a lot of passion and enthusiasm about the offense that he runs and about the plans and the vision that he has for Wisconsin football moving forward."
And now Spalding is part of that vision. And Fickell's. It has all been a little crazy. In a good way.
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