Kaelin Clay

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Kaelin Clay
refer to caption
Clay with the Ravens in 2015
No. 83 Carolina Panthers
Position: Wide receiver / Return specialist
Personal information
Date of birth: (1992-01-03) January 3, 1992 (age 25)
Place of birth: Long Beach, California
Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight: 200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school: Long Beach (CA) Poly
College: Utah
NFL Draft: 2015 / Round: 6 / Pick: 184
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2015
Total Return yards: 587
Total Return TDs: 1
Player stats at NFL.com

Kaelin Clay (born January 3, 1992) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft and played college football at Utah.[1][2][3]

Early years[edit]

Clay attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California. He caught 20 passes for 502 yards and six touchdowns in his junior campaign on a squad that won the Southern Section title. He began his SuperPrep All-American and All-Moore League senior season as a wide receiver before moving to the backfield for the final four games. He rushed for 1,048 yards and posted another 524 receiving to combine for 1,572 rushing and receiving yards as a senior, while scoring 15 touchdowns (eight receiving, seven rushing) and adding 13 punt returns for 206 yards. Clay was ranked as the No. 53 wide receiver nationally by Rivals.com and the media outlet's No. 79 player overall in the state of California.[4]

Also a standout track & field athlete, Clay finished third in the state in the 100-meter dash (10.44) and fourth in the 200-meter dash (21.07) as a senior in 2010 with career-best times in both. He helped his track squad win Moore League titles in each his four seasons, while he was a four-time winner (100 meters, 200 meters, 4x100 meter relay, 4x400 meter relay) at the league track meet in each of his final two seasons, as well as the winner in both the 100m and 200m for each of his final three campaigns.

College career[edit]

Clay played one year at Utah after transferring from Mt. San Antonio College, where he was named first-team all-conference with 16 touchdowns. He made four different All-American teams as a return specialist in 2014 with Utah and was named first-team All-Pac-12 as a return specialist. He also finished the season with a punt return average of 15.0 and three touchdowns. Also returned a kickoff for a touchdown last season and had a 24.9 average on kickoff returns.

On November 8, 2014, Clay received national coverage when, with Utah up 7-0 against the Oregon Ducks, on what would have been Clay's defining 79-yard touchdown for his collegiate career, he showboated prematurely and dropped the ball on the 1-yard line, allowing Oregon's Joe Walker to recover the ball and return it 99 yards for a touchdown in the opposite direction, changing the potential 14-0 score to a 7-7 tie; Oregon would go on to win the game 51-27.[5]

Professional career[edit]

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
5 ft 10 in 195 lb 4.45 s 1.59 s 2.59 s 4.26 s 6.97 s 33 in 9 ft 5 in 10 reps
All values from NFL Combine, 40-yard dash from Pro Day[6]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers[edit]

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Clay in the 6th round of the 2015 NFL Draft with the 184th overall pick.[7] On September 5, 2015, he was waived by the Buccaneers and was signed to the practice squad.[8][9] On September 15, 2015, he was released by the Buccaneers.[10]

Detroit Lions[edit]

On September 22, 2015, Clay was signed by the Lions to the practice squad.[11]

Baltimore Ravens[edit]

On November 17, 2015, Clay was signed by the Ravens from the Lions' practice squad.[12] On November 22, 2015, Clay played in his first career game against the St. Louis Rams. The next week against their divisional-rival, Cleveland Browns, Clay returned the Ravens first punt-return for an 82-yard touchdown on Monday Night Football.[13]

During the August 11 preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers, Clay fumbled a punt, giving Carolina possession. He was waived/injured by the Ravens on August 15, 2016 and was placed on injured reserve.[14] He was released from the Ravens' injured reserve list on November 11, 2016.[15]

Carolina Panthers[edit]

On April 7, 2017, Clay signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Panthers.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ The Salt Lake Tribune. "After blunder goes viral, Utah's Kaelin Clay fights to put it behind him (with video)". The Salt Lake Tribune. 
  2. ^ Brad Rock (December 18, 2014). "Brad Rock: Utah's Kaelin Clay shows the way to move on". DeseretNews.com. 
  3. ^ MARK ANDERSON LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. "Utah WR Clay moves on from gaffe". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 
  4. ^ "Kaelin Clay Biography". calbears.com. 
  5. ^ Peters, Micah (November 9, 2014). "Utah's Kaelin Clay makes all-time goof, drops ball too soon, Oregon returns it for TD. Oregon went on to win the game 51–27.". USA Today. Retrieved November 9, 2014. 
  6. ^ "Kaelin Clay – Utah, WR : 2015 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". nfldraftscout.com. 
  7. ^ "Buccaneers Draft WR Kaelin Clay". Buccaneers.com. May 2, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2017. 
  8. ^ Smith, Scott (September 5, 2015). "Tough Cuts: Buccaneers Get to 53". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved January 28, 2017. 
  9. ^ Smith, Scott (September 8, 2015). "Buccaneers Add to Practice Squad". Buccaneers.com. Retrieved January 28, 2017. 
  10. ^ "Bucs Release Kaelin Clay, Cameron Brate". Buccaneers.com. September 15, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2017. 
  11. ^ DemAra, Max (September 23, 2015). "Detroit Lions add speedster Kaelin Clay to practice squad". Retrieved January 28, 2017. 
  12. ^ Downing, Garrett (November 17, 2015). "Ravens Waive Asa Jackson, Jeremy Ross". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved November 27, 2015. 
  13. ^ Cleveland.com. "Watch Kaelin Clay give Baltimore a 7-0 lead on Monday Night Football". Retrieved November 30, 2015. 
  14. ^ Mink, Ryan (August 15, 2016). "Ravens Waive Injured Returner Kaelin Clay". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved January 28, 2017. 
  15. ^ "Kaelin Clay: Released from IR". CBSsports.com. November 11, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2017. 
  16. ^ Strickland, Bryan (April 7, 2017). "Panthers sign Kaelin Clay". Panthers.com. 

External links[edit]

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