Clayton Lee Harbor (born July 2, 1987) 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

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

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). He was selected by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in the fourth round of the

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. He 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

Missouri State Bears The Missouri State Bears and Lady Bears are the athletic teams representing Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State University). Missouri State's athletics programs date back to 1908. Missouri State competes in the NCAA Divi ...

. He was also a member of 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 ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Early life and education

Harbor is the son of Jeff Harbor and Donna Norman. He grew up in

Dwight, Illinois Dwight is a village (Illinois), village located mainly in Livingston County, Illinois, with a small portion in Grundy County, Illinois, Grundy County. The population was 4,032 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Dwight contains an orig ...

and attended Dwight High School, which had a graduating class of only 74 during Harbor's senior year. He was a four-year letterman in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and track. In his final three seasons, he earned All-Interstate 8 Conference honors in each sport. In football, Harbor played

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 ...

and

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

, and broke the school record with 60 receptions, 1,079 yards, and 19 touchdowns. Harbor was not offered a scholarship in football, and decided to try and earn a basketball scholarship until he sustained an injury during his senior basketball season. Harbor's brother Cory, who played linebacker for the

, persuaded the coaches at Missouri State to give Harbor a chance, and he was offered a scholarship.Eagles Media Guide
He earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in Hospitality Administration and Management from

Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second-largest u ...

and is currently pursuing

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

student at

Kelley School of Business The Kelley School of Business (KSB) is an undergraduate and graduate business school for Indiana University Bloomington and Indiana University Indianapolis. As of 2022, approximately 13,538 full-time undergraduate and graduate students are enr ...

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

College career

During his freshman year at Missouri State, Harbor was redshirted. The following year, as a redshirt freshman, he played in 11 games, starting two of the eleven at wide receiver. He caught six passes for 73 yards in 2006. His best game that season was in a win against

Southwest Baptist University Southwest Baptist University (SBU) is a private Baptist university in Bolivar, Missouri, United States. It is affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention, which is part of the Southern Baptist Convention. In 2023, it had a total enrollment ...

(of the NAIA), in which he recorded three receptions for 34 yards, including a touchdown. He also caught a 31-yard pass against

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. Harbor switched positions as a redshirt sophomore in 2007, moving from wide receiver to

. Against Southern Illinois, he caught seven passes for 87 yards. He made five receptions for 106 yards against

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

, and he set school records for receptions and yards in a single season as a tight end with 45 receptions and 647 yards. Following the season, he earned

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third-team All-America and first-team All-

Missouri Valley Football Conference The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...

(MVFC) honors. As a sophomore, he was named Missouri State's offensive player of the year. As a junior, he led the Bears with 40 receptions for 457 yards. He earned second-team Associated Press All-America honors after the season. By the end of his junior season, he kept his streak alive of 22 consecutive games with a reception. Twice he earned Missouri State University Coors Player of the Week in his junior season. He also broke the 1,000 career receiving yard mark on his way to receive first-team All-MVFC honors for the second straight year as well as Missouri State's Offensive Player of the Year. As a senior, he tallied 59 receptions, which was second-most in the nation among tight ends, with 729 yards. He was first among tight ends in receiving yards per game with 66.3 yards. He ended his career as the all-time receptions leader at Missouri State with 150 as well as third in receiving yards with 1,906. Following the season, he earned Football Championship Subdivision first-team All-America honors and first-team All-MVFC honors for the third straight year. He was also placed on the MVFC All-Silver Anniversary Squad.

Professional career

Harbor was one of 20 players selected to participate in the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

from the FCS or a lower division. Among tight ends, he finished first in the bench press with 30 repetitions of 225 pounds, second in the vertical jump with 40 inches, and fourth in the 40-yard dash with 4.62 seconds.

Philadelphia Eagles

Harbor was selected by the

in the fourth round of the

with the 125th overall pick. He was signed to a four-year contract worth $2.243 million with $453,000 guaranteed on June 15, 2010. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, he recorded nine receptions for 72 yards and one touchdown. Against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

as a rookie, he caught three passes for 55 yards and had a touchdown reception. Harbor was released by the team on August 31, 2013.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Harbor was claimed off waivers by the

on September 1, 2013. He played all 16 games in the 2013 season for the Jaguars, catching 24 passes for 292 yards, and scoring two touchdowns.

New England Patriots

On March 30, 2016 Harbor signed with the

. On October 3, 2016, he was released by the Patriots.

Detroit Lions

On October 4, 2016, Harbor was signed by the Lions.

New Orleans Saints

On May 14, 2017, Harbor was signed by the

. He was placed on injured reserve on August 28, 2017.

Team 9

Harbor signed with the XFL's Team 9

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on March 10, 2020. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Reality television

Harbor was a contestant on the 14th season of ''

The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to: Film, television, and related * ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions: ** ''The Bachelorette'' (Am ...

'', starring Rebecca "Becca" Kufrin, in 2018. Harbor, however, left the show after injuring his wrist while playing tackle football with the other contestants. The injury required surgery. He was on the sixth season of '' Bachelor in Paradise'' in 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harbor, Clay 1987 births Living people People from Dwight, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois American football tight ends Missouri State Bears football players Philadelphia Eagles players Jacksonville Jaguars players New England Patriots players Detroit Lions players New Orleans Saints players Bachelor Nation contestants Team 9 players Missouri State University alumni Kelley School of Business alumni Indiana University Bloomington alumni