With Signing Day quickly approaching, BadgerBlitz.com will take a look back at the top five prospects Wisconsin has signed at each position during the Rivals.com era (since 2004).

Today, we continue with the running backs, where Wisconsin has had a great deal of recruiting success.

QUARTERBACKS |

Breakdown: John Clay is one of Wisconsin's most storied recruits over the last 10 years. The No. 4 running back in the country and U.S. Army All-American Bowl participant had offers from Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee, Nebraska and a host of other schools. But Bret Bielema landed Clay's commitment roughly a month before Signing Day. That, however, didn't end the drama.

Clay's eligibility was in question all the summer and the Racine Park standout was in summer school in order to qualify academically. But on Aug. 18, 2007, Clay arrived in Madison in the middle of fall camp and ended up redshirting his freshman season. In 2009, Clay led the Big Ten and ranked eighth in the country with 1,517 rushing yards but weight issues plagued his final season in Madison. An MCL injury sidelined Clay for the last three 2010 regular season games and he declared early for the NFL Draft, where he was not selected. Clay finished his playing days at UW with the third-highest career touchdown total (41) and seventh all-time in rushing with 3,413 yards.

Breakdown: A 6-foot-2, 210-pound prospect from powerhouse Hoover High School in Alabama, Shaw chose UW over offers from Minnesota, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Nebraska, Mississippi and N.C. State just days before Signing Day in 2015. He was part of a class that, at one time, also included tailbacks Davon Crookshank and Jordan Stevenson, though neither ever made it to Madison. After a productive redshirt season this fall, Shaw will have a chance to compete for the No. 1 running back job in 2017.

Breakdown: Melvin Gordon will go down as one of the most accomplished players in the program's history. Luckily for Wisconsin, the staff were able to flip his commitment from Iowa in December of 2010. Gordon's redshirt junior season was historic; he was the Doak Walker Award winner, Heisman Trophy runner-up and a unanimous consensus first-team All-American. That season, Gordon rushed for 2,587 yards, a Big Ten record and the second-most in FBS history at the time, and led nation in rushing at 184.8 yards per game.

Breakdown: Melvin Gordon's prep teammate at Kenosha Bradford, Vonte Jackson was ready for the spotlight as a senior but tore his ACL in the Red Devils' season opener. Unfortunately, Jackson, who was the first running back UW offered in the 2012 class, suffered two more knee injuries at Wisconsin and underwent three surgical procedures in hopes of continuing his football career. But in August of 2014, Jackson was forced to give up his battle due to yet another knee injury. During his recruitment, Jackson, who was recruited by then-position coach Thomas Hammock, chose UW over offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota, among others.

Breakdown: Wisconsin, led by then-assistant coach Dave Doeren, beat out Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Northwestern for Montee Ball's services. From 2009-2012, the former four-star prospect finished with 5,140 rushing yards, the No. 2 mark in program history, and was a two-time All-American. Ball, a second-round pick by Denver in the 2013 NFL Draft, still has UW records for rushing touchdowns (77) and total touchdowns (83).

Breakdown: A one-time Pittsburgh pledge, Corey Clement flipped to Wisconsin in November of 2012. During his recruitment, the four-star prospect also racked up offers from Nebraska, Notre Dame, Florida State and Ohio State, among others. At Wisconsin, Clement, who once held the South Jersey single-season rushing record (2,510), ran for 3,092 and 36 career touchdowns and recently received an invitation to the 2017 NFL Combine.

Breakdown: Then-head coach Gary Andersen made four-star running back Taiwan Deal a top priority for the Badgers in the 2014 recruiting. A standout from DeMatha High School, Deal chose Wisconsin over scholarships from Iowa, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Maryland, among others. This off-season, Deal is expected to undergo ankle surgery in order to correct nagging injuries that have plagued him throughout his career at UW.

Breakdown: In the current recruiting class, running backs coach John Settle helped the Badgers secure of a commitment from four-star tailback Jonathan Taylor, who broke Corey Clement's South Jersey record this fall after rushing for 2,815 yards and 37 touchdowns during his senior season at Salem High School. A former Rutgers commit, Taylor flipped to Wisconsin after an official visit this fall.