Mark Clayton (American Football, Born 1982)
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Mark Jermaine Clayton (born July 2, 1982) is an American former professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). Clayton played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...
from 2001 to 2004 earning first-team
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
honors twice. He was selected by the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
in the first round of the
2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...
and also played for the
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
.


College career

After redshirting in Oklahoma's 2000 national championship season, Clayton's college career began in 2001, when he started 8 of Oklahoma's 13 games, and made 46 catches for 524 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Sooners won the
Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...
. In 2002, he made only one start, but managed 26 receptions for 416 yards, including 5 touchdowns, which tied for the team lead among receivers. In that year, the Sooners won the
Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...
championship as well as the Rose Bowl, a first for any Big 12 team. His profile exploded in 2003, as he garnered
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
and All-Big 12 honors after a junior season in which he took aim on the school record book. His 83 receptions, 1,425 yards, and 15 touchdowns all smashed previous marks (66, 1,034, and 7, respectively). The quarterback who threw the passes, Jason White, won the
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...
, and the Sooners advanced to the
Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...
before losing to national champion
LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
. Clayton was a
Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...
finalist. Several of Clayton's "highlight reel" catches during this season demonstrated his ability to gain large numbers of yards after the catch (YAC). Clayton's 2004 senior year again netted
All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
and All-Big 12 recognition, though his 66 receptions, 876 yards, and 8 touchdowns were not quite as eye-popping as the previous season. The Sooners again won the Big 12 championship and played for the national title against
USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...
, though they lost in the
Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...
. Clayton set the record for career receiving yards with 3,241. Clayton obtained his communications degree in 2010 through the university's degree completion program.


Professional career


Pre-draft


Baltimore Ravens

Clayton was the 22nd overall selection in the first round of the
2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...
by the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
.


2005

Clayton started his rookie season slowly due to various injuries but picked up speed during the latter part of the season; a major part of his rehabilitation process was guided by his best friend Christopher Pannozzo. He finished the year with 44 receptions for 471 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also added 8 rushes for 33 yards and a touchdown.


2006

In his second year, Clayton stats improved significantly, with 67 receptions for 939 yards and 5 touchdowns.


2007

In 2007, Clayton had 48 receptions for 531 yards, down from his impressive 2006 season. He dealt with various injuries throughout the 2007 season but was active for most of it.


2008

In 2008, Clayton had some bright spots during the year. He had 4 catches for 87 yards and a touchdown against the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
, 5 catches for 164 yards and a touchdown against the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
, and 4 catches for 128 yards against the
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
. The Ravens won each game. Clayton had receptions of 70, 48, and 53 yards. In Week 13, at the division rival Cincinnati Bengals, Clayton had what was arguably the best game of his career. He had five receptions for 164 yards, which included a 70-yard receiving touchdown, the second longest touchdown of his career. He also had one pass attempt on a trick
end-around The end-around is a play in American football in which an end or wide receiver crosses the backfield towards the opposite end of the line and receives a handoff directly from the quarterback. The receiver then may proceed to do one of two thing ...
play, which he completed for a 32-yard touchdown pass to fellow wide receiver
Derrick Mason Derrick James Mason (born January 17, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Tennessee Oilers in the fourth round of the 1 ...
, the only touchdown pass of his career. Clayton helped the Ravens rout the Bengals 34–3. Clayton finished the season with 695 yards on 41 receptions, 3 receiving TDs, 1 rushing TD, and 1 passing TD.


2009

Clayton had his least productive year as a full-time, healthy starter in 2009, as QB
Joe Flacco Joseph Vincent Flacco (born January 16, 1985) is an American professional football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Delaware Fightin' Blue ...
targeted WR Mason, TE
Todd Heap Todd Benjamin Heap (born March 16, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Baltimore Ravens. He was selected to the Pro Bowl twice with ...
, and RB
Ray Rice Raymell Mourice Rice (born January 22, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rutgers ...
more than Clayton. In fact, Rice led the team in receptions for much of the year. Clayton finished the season with 34 receptions for 480 yards, and two touchdowns.


St. Louis Rams


2010

On September 6, 2010, Clayton was traded to the
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
along with a seventh round pick in the
2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, 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 Rad ...
in exchange for a sixth round selection in the 2011 NFL draft. In his first game as a Ram and having only been with the club less than a week Clayton caught 10 passes for 119 yards (two touchdowns) to lead the team in both categories. In Week 5, Clayton was placed on injury reserve with a torn patellar tendon in his right knee, which ended his season. Before the injury, he had emerged as a valued veteran presence on the team, and rookie
Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Bradford attended Putnam City North High School, where he starred ...
's top receiving target. He was re-signed by the Rams on August 31, 2011.


2011

In the 2011 season, Clayton played in two games, starting one, and caught three passes for 26 yards.


Retirement

In May 2013, Clayton announced his retirement from football. He finished his career with 260 receptions for 3,448 yards and 14 touchdowns.


NFL career statistics


Entrepreneur

Mark Clayton is the founder of Livv Headphones. He also founded a
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
based clothing line called MyChristianT (MCT).


References


External links


MyChristianT.com Business websiteCatchClayton89.com Official websiteOfficial bio at BaltimoreRavens.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Mark 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Oklahoma City American football wide receivers Oklahoma Sooners football players Baltimore Ravens players St. Louis Rams players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen