Clifton "Cliff" Washburn (born January 25, 1980) is a former professional athlete who played in the American

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

and United Football League as well as with the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He was signed by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2003; he has also been a member of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

, Saskatchewan Roughriders,

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

, Amsterdam Admirals,

Hamburg Sea Devils Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Hamburg Sea Devils: * Hamburg Sea Devils (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 2005 and 2007; * Hamburg Sea Devils (ELF) The Hamburg Sea Devils are an American football team in ...

Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...

and Las Vegas Locomotives. He played both football and basketball at The Citadel.

Early years

High school

Washburn attended Shelby High School in Shelby, North Carolina graduating in 1998; he was a three-time All-Conference Basketball selection, as a senior he averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds per game.

College career

Washburn was a 3-year starter for The Citadel Basketball team from 1998 to 2002 scoring 1,024 points and grabbing 632 rebounds, he is one of only five players to lead the team in rebounding three consecutive years. After his eligibility ended he joined the Bulldogs football team for the 2002 season as a Defensive End where he tied a school record with 12 quarterback sacks, he also recorded 56 tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown. He played in the Hula Bowl and East-West Shrine Game. He has the unique distinction of being an All Southern Conference selection in both sports and was the first in league history to have been a Player of the Week in both football and basketball; he was inducted into The Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.

Professional career

National Football League

Washburn was signed by the

of the

as an

in 2003. He has also been a member of the

. On August 11, 2008, Washburn signed with the

, only to be a final training camp casualty on August 31. However, on January 5, 2009, Washburn was re-signed by the Texans under a reserve/future contract. He was released at the end of training camp on September 5, 2009.

World League of American Football

While playing in the NFL Washburn also spent several summers playing in the WLAF (later

) which was considered a developmental league for less talented players. He was a member of the Amsterdam Admirals in 2004, the

in 2005 and the

in 2007 who defeated Frankfurt in World Bowl XV.

Canadian Football League

On July 4, 2006, Washburn signed with the

of the

and played in six regular season games for them during the

2006 CFL season The 2006 CFL season is considered to be the 53rd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 49th Canadian Football League season. CFL News in 2006 It was announced on April 9, 2006 that the CFL had suspended the operat ...

, all of them as a starting tackle. Washburn also played in the East Division final for the Argos in a losing cause. Washburn was re-acquired by the Argonauts on September 29, 2008. After being released by Houston, Washburn re-joined Toronto on September 28, 2009. On October 14, 2009, Washburn was traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in exchange for a 5th round draft pick in 2010 and a conditional draft pick in 2011. He spent his final season in professional football starting 5 games at Offensive Tackle for the

in 2011.

Las Vegas Locomotives

Washburn signed with the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League in June 2010. He was released on November 1.

Coaching career

While playing professional football Washburn served as a volunteer high school basketball coach in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Forest City, North Carolina Forest City, formerly known as "Burnt Chimney," is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,377 as of the 2020 census, making it the largest municipality in Rutherford County. History The Alexander Manufa ...

; in July, 2015 he was named Head Basketball Coach at

Cane Bay High School Cane Bay High School is a secondary school located in Summerville, South Carolina, United States. It is estimated to have an enrollment of >2,450 students as of the 2023-24 school year. The principal of the school is Dr. Glenda LeVine, who is acc ...

Summerville, South Carolina Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County, with small portions in Berkeley and Charleston counties. It is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Su ...

after spending a year as a volunteer assistant.

References

External links

Just Sports StatsToronto Argonauts bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washburn, Cliff 1980 births Living people American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles American football offensive tackles Amsterdam Admirals players Chicago Bears players Dallas Cowboys players Denver Broncos players Edmonton Elks players Frankfurt Galaxy players Green Bay Packers players Hamburg Sea Devils players Houston Texans players Las Vegas Locomotives players Minnesota Vikings players New York Giants players Sportspeople from Shelby, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina The Citadel Bulldogs football players Toronto Argonauts players The Citadel Bulldogs basketball players American men's basketball players