Clayton Isbell (born August 3, 2000) is an American 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). 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 ...

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, and Coastal Carolina before being signed by the Panthers as an undrafted free agent.

Early life

Isbell attended high school at St. Charles East. Coming out of high school, Isbell decided to commit to play

for the

Illinois State Redbirds The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level ( FCS in football). Most teams compete in the Missouri Valley Conference except football (M ...

College career

During Isbell's career at Illinois State, he played in 28 games notching 105 tackles with five and a half being for a loss, six pass deflections, five interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble, en route to being named a FCS All-American twice. After two seasons at Illinois State, Isbell decided to enter the transfer portal. Isbell decided to transfer to play for the

Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans in the Unite ...

. During Isbell's lone season with Utah in 2022, he played in all fourteen games making one start where he recorded 16 tackles with half a tackle being for a loss. After the conclusion of the 2022 season, Isbell decided to enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal. For the 2023 season, Isbell decided to transfer to play for the

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (, ) are the athletic teams that represent Coastal Carolina University. They participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA as a member of the Sun Belt Conferen ...

. In week one of the 2023 season, Isbell made three interceptions in a loss against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. In his senior season in 2023, Isbell tallied 86 tackles with four and a half being for a loss, five pass deflections, and three interceptions. After the conclusion of the 2023 season, Isbell decided to declare for the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Isbell went undrafted in the

, and signed with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

as an UDFA. He was waived on July 26.

New York Giants

On August 20, 2024, Isbell signed with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, but waived five days later.

Edmonton Elks

Isbell was signed by the

on January 28, 2025.

References

External links

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers bioIllinois State Redbirds bioUtah Utes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isbell, Clayton 2000 births Living people Players of American football from Illinois American football safeties Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football players Illinois State Redbirds football players Utah Utes football players Carolina Panthers players New York Giants players Edmonton Elks players Canadian football defensive backs Players of Canadian football from Illinois