Michael Clayton (American football)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Michael Clayton (disambiguation).

Michael Clayton
refer to caption
Clayton signing autographs in 2006
No. 80, 83
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1982-10-13) October 13, 1982 (age 41)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:Baton Rouge (LA) Christian Life
College:LSU
NFL draft:2004 / Round: 1 / Pick: 15
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receiving yards:
2,955
Receiving touchdowns:10
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Michael Rashard Clayton (born October 13, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 15th overall in the 2004 NFL draft.

Early years

Clayton prepped at

U.S. Army All-American Bowl on December 30, 2000 alongside fellow LSU teammates Ben Wilkerson, Andrew Whitworth, and Marcus Spears.[1] Michael also played basketball there. In 2008, he became the first inductee in the Christian Life Academy Hall of Fame.[2]

College career

Clayton played

LSU Tigers in 2003. During his three years with LSU, he caught 182 passes for 2,582 yards and 21 TDs for the Tigers, and ended his LSU career with the record for career TD receptions with 21. The record was later broken by Dwayne Bowe in a game against Tennessee on November 4, 2006. He finished second in school history in receptions with 182, just one shy of tying Wendell Davis
's record of 183. He is ranked fourth in career receiving yards with 2,582 and seventh in career 100-yard games, and is the only player in LSU history to have at least 700 yards receiving in three straight seasons.

Clayton is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[3] Clayton was initiated into the Nu Psi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha in the Spring of 2003.[4]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split
20-yard shuttle
 Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 2+3⁄4 in
(1.90 m) 		209 lb
(95 kg) 		32+3⁄8 in
(0.82 m) 		9+1⁄8 in
(0.23 m)		 4.54 s 1.62 s 2.70 s 4.09 s 6.77 s 32.5 in
(0.83 m)		 9 ft 8 in
(2.95 m)
All values from NFL Combine[5][6]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Clayton was selected by the

Washington Redskins. His second season was very disappointing and inconsistent.[citation needed
]

The start to the

injured reserve
, ending his season with four games remaining.

He followed that overall performance with a forgettable 2007 season, although he did come on strong down the stretch. He made the most of his opportunities at the end, when the Buccaneers were resting many of their starters (which many analysts[who?] considered a mistake). He caught 22 passes during his 14-game season, 16 of those came in the last four contests and 10 coming in the last two. He also amassed 192 of his 301 yards in those four games.

Clayton got to play in his first post-season contest on January 6, 2008 against the eventual Super Bowl-champion New York Giants. He caught 3 passes for 39 yards.

After the 2008 season Clayton became a free agent, but re-signed with the Buccaneers to a new five-year deal. After signing the deal he made the famous "check is in the bank" quote.[8] The Bucs released Clayton on September 4, 2010.

United Football League

Clayton joined the

United Football League on October 25, 2010.[9]

New York Giants

On November 23, 2010, Clayton signed a one-year contract with the

dorm during the NFL combine in 2004. On September 3, 2011, Clayton was cut by the Giants[12][13]

On September 23, 2011, the Giants re-signed Clayton after placing

injured reserve
. In the 2011-2012 season, Clayton and the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl 21-17, earning Clayton his first Super Bowl ring. He became a free agent after the season.

NFL career statistics

Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

Year Team Games Receiving
GP GS Tgt Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2004 TAM 16 13 122 80 1,193 14.9 75 7
2005 TAM 14 10 55 32 372 11.6 41 0
2006 TAM 12 9 65 33 356 10.8 27 1
2007 TAM 14 4 40 22 301 13.7 39 0
2008 TAM 15 9 61 38 484 12.7 58 1
2009 TAM 13 11 48 16 230 14.4 47 1
2010 NYG 6 0 4 2 19 9.5 14 0
2011 NYG 5 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0
95 56 396 223 2,955 13.3 75 10

Playoffs

Year Team Games Receiving
GP GS Tgt Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2007 TAM 1 0 5 3 39 13.0 15 0
1 0 5 3 39 13.0 15 0

Personal life

Clayton runs the Michael Clayton Generation Next Foundation, which is a

Ronald McDonald Care Mobile and the Tampa Bay Pediatric Cancer Center. Clayton holds the annual Michael Clayton Celebrity Hoops Jam, a celebrity basketball
game, to raise money for the foundation.

Clayton has been a pundit for Sky Sports' NFL coverage in the United Kingdom.

Clayton now attends Florida College in Temple Terrace, Florida and is finishing out his degree there.

References

  1. ^ U.S. Army All-American Bowl All-Time Team: Offense
  2. ^ Clayton to be inducted in CLA hall
  3. ^ "NIC Greeks in Professional Football 2007". Greeks in Sports. North American Interfraternity Conference. Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  4. ^ "Lines of Nu Psi". Archived from the original on March 6, 2008.
  5. ^ Packers.com » News » Stories » April 20, 2004: Gil Brandt's NFL Draft Analysis By Position: Wide Receivers Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "2004 NFL Draft Scout Michael Clayton College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  7. ^ "2004 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  8. ^ Clayton To Re-Sign With Bucs Archived March 2, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Nighthawks add pair of NFL veterans Archived September 6, 2012, at archive.today
  10. ^ Twitter - Adam Schefter Former Buccaneers WR Michael Clayton
  11. ^ Giants to sign Clayton - Giants Blog - ESPN New York
  12. ^ Clayton, Manning reunite as Giants
  13. ^ Giants WR Michael Clayton back with Eli Manning

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Clayton_(American_football)&oldid=1218032117"