Zachary Alan Clayton (born January 1, 1988) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

in the

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(NFL). He was drafted by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

in the seventh round of the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

High school career

Clayton played three years of football at Auburn High School in

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population o ...

, as well as excelling in the discus and shot put for the 9-time state champion

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

. Midway through his junior season a move required him to transfer to rival

Opelika High School Opelika High School is located in Opelika, Lee County, Alabama and was originally built in 1972. Opelika High School, of the Opelika City Schools, serves students in grades 9– 12. The principal is Kelli Fischer. The school's assistant prin ...

Opelika, Alabama Opelika (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of Opelika is ...

, where he finished his high school career in 2005. He was named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association 6A All-State Team as a senior. Clayton was considered a two-star recruit by

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in 2006.

College career

Clayton redshirted his freshman year at Auburn in 2006, and saw action in 10 games in 2007. He started one game in 2008, totaling 22 tackles and finished 15th in the SEC in sacks per game as a sophomore. Clayton's junior season in 2009 was marred by injury and he only played in six games, with seven tackles on the season. 2010 saw Clayton start all 14 games, with 28 tackles (8 tackles for loss), including three tackles and one sack in the

2011 BCS National Championship Game The 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game was a college football bowl game to determine the national champion of the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season. The finale of the 2010–2011 Bowl Championship Series was p ...

vs. the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conferenc ...

Professional career

Clayton was taken with the 212th overall pick in the seventh round of the

by the

. He played in three games for the Titans during the 2011 season. He was released by the team on August 30, 2013.

References

External links

Auburn Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Zach 1988 births Living people American football defensive tackles Auburn High School (Alabama) alumni Auburn Tigers football players People from Opelika, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama Sportspeople from Champaign, Illinois Tennessee Titans players