Charles Clay (American football)
 Clay with the Buffalo Bills in 2015 | |||||||||||||
| No. 85 Buffalo Bills | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth: | February 13, 1989 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Little Rock, Arkansas | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Little Rock (AR) Central | ||||||||||||
| College: | Tulsa | ||||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2011 / Round: 6 / Pick: 174 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 5, 2016 | |||||||||||||
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Charles Clay (born February 13, 1989) is an American football tight end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tulsa, and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
Clay began his career as a fullback and often lines up in the backfield as an H-back.
Background
Clay attended Little Rock Central High School where he was ranked as the 13th top overall prospect in the state of Arkansas by Rivals.com his senior season.[1][2]
College career
Clay played halfback and fullback at the University of Tulsa from 2007 to 2010. Tulsa's website notes that Clay "was named to the Rivals.com Freshman All-America second team as an all-purpose player".[3] During his career Clay accumulated 685 rushing yards on 145 carries with 10 rushing touchdowns and also added over 2000 yards receiving with 21 receiving touchdowns.[3]
Professional career
Miami Dolphins
After playing in the Senior Bowl and participating in the NFL Combine, NFL.com's scouts noted that "Clay is an athletic fullback that is a weapon in the receiving game. Possesses good lateral agility and makes people miss in the open field. Delivers powerful shots blocking and shows good leg drive. Strong enough to push the pile in short yardage situations and can break tackles in the secondary." [4] He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins.
Clay got his first career catch on October 2, 2011, against the San Diego Chargers. On November 20, Clay recorded his first touchdown against the Buffalo Bills. He ended the 2011 season with 16 catches and 3 touchdowns and the 2012 season with 18 catches and 2 touchdowns as one of the team's fullbacks. Clay had a breakout season in 2013. After starting tight end Dustin Keller suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason, Clay assumed the starting job after being an H-Back on the team [5] and quickly contributed with his first career carry going for a touchdown and 109 yards receiving [6] in a Week 2 matchup with the Colts. Clay's perhaps season defining play came against Pittsburgh in Week 14 when he broke multiple tackles, including one of veteran safety Troy Polamalu, on his way to a vital touchdown in a Miami win. Clay finished the season with 69 catches, 759 yards, and 6 touchdowns; in addition to 15 yards rushing on 7 carries and a rushing touchdown.[6]
His 2013 season earned him the 89th ranking position on the 2014 edition of the NFL Top 100.[7]
Buffalo Bills
On March 19, 2015, Clay signed a five-year, $38M contract with the Buffalo Bills, after the Dolphins elected not to match the offer.[8]
References
- ↑ http://www.nfl.com/player/charlesclay/2495139/profile
- ↑ "Tulsa Hurricanes Profile". tulsahurricane.com.
- 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
- ↑ http://www.nfl.com/player/charlesclay/2495139/combine
- ↑ http://www.dolphinsgab.com/2013/08/20/miami-dolphins-charles-clay-moves-to-starting-tight-end/
- 1 2 http://www.nfl.com/player/charlesclay/2495139/gamelogs
- ↑ "ATL writers weigh in on 'The Top 100 Players of 2014'". National Football League. May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ↑ Brown, Chris. "Bills land TE Charles Clay". BuffaloBills.com. Buffalo Bills. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com • ESPN • Pro-Football-Reference