Clayton Ray Echard (born April 29, 1993) is an American television personality best known for his appearances as a contestant on season 18 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 ...

'', and as the star of season 26 of '' The Bachelor''. 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

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

and spent training camp with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

of 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) in 2016.

Early life and education

Echard was born on April 29, 1993, in Eureka, Missouri, to parents Brian and Kelly. He has two brothers, Nate and Patrick. He began playing football in the sixth grade. He 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 ...

during his junior year at Eureka High School, weighing 170 pounds, before shifting to a

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

and gaining 30 pounds for the role as a senior. He graduated from high school in 2011. Though he did not receive any scholarship offers, Echard was selected as a walk-on member of the Missouri Tigers football team at the start of his first year at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. At the University of Missouri, he studied health sciences and minored in Spanish and business, receiving a bachelor's degree in 2015.

Career

College and professional football

Echard

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

ed his freshman year and played one game during the 2012 season. He was named to the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

academic honor roll for 2012. At the start of the 2013 season, Echard was moved from defensive end to

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 ...

. He played 12 games and recorded one assisted tackle. He played in both offensive and defensive positions in all 14 games during the 2014 season, eventually settling as tight end, which he continued to play during the 2015 season. He made two receptions for 14 yards with one

start Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Track and field#Starts use in race, Starts use in sport race * S ...

in 2015. Echard signed with the

of the

as a tight end in July 2016, but was cut from the team before the start of the regular season in September 2016. Echard worked as a sales representative for

Stryker Corporation Stryker Corporation is an American multinational Medical Technologies, medical technologies corporation based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Stryker's products include implants used in joint replacement and trauma surgeries; surgica ...

, a medical device company, in 2016. He is currently a real estate agent in Scottsdale.

''The Bachelorette''

Echard first appeared as a contestant on Michelle Young's season of ''The Bachelorette''. He was first announced as a potential contestant for the season, along with 34 other men, in July 2021. He finished in eighth place.

''The Bachelor''

In September 2021, ''Variety'' and other sources reported that Echard was cast as the star of season 26 of ''The Bachelor''. On September 16, he spoke to fans of the franchise in his hometown, saying that he was "excited" and "a little nervous". Echard was officially confirmed by ABC on November 30, 2021. The season premiered on January 3, 2022. In the final episode, Echard chose Susie Evans, but she rejected him. It was later revealed on the live ''After the Final Rose'' special that they had since gotten back together.

Personal life

Echard was in a relationship with Susie Evans from December 2021 to September 2022.

Pregnancy Hoax

In May 2023, Laura Michelle Owens of Scottsdale, Arizona claimed to be pregnant with Clayton Echard's unborn twins. After 10 months of litigation, Judge Julie Mata granted Clayton's Petition for Non-Paternity and attorney fees. Several noteworthy news outlets have covered the ruling, including People, US Weekly and 12 News Phoenix.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Echard, Clayton 1993 births American football defensive linemen American football tight ends American salespeople Bachelor Nation contestants Living people Missouri Tigers football players Players of American football from Missouri People from St. Louis County, Missouri Seattle Seahawks players