Trevor Anthony "T. J." Clemmings (born November 18, 1991) 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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

. 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 Pittsburgh Panthers and was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

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 the fourth round of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

. He also played for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

Early life

A native of

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. The town is know for their pancake throwing contest held ...

, Clemmings attended the since-defunct Paterson Catholic High School in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.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 ...

in high school on a team that included future

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player Kyle Anderson and switched sports despite his mother's concerns about the risks of injury in

. Despite playing only two seasons of

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Paterson Catholic, he earned status as the top overall prospect in the state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. As a senior, he helped lead his team to a perfect 11–0 record en route to the title. For the season, he collected 73

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, seven sacks and seven forced fumbles. Following his senior season, he was named North Jersey Defensive Player of the Year, All-New Jersey, All-New Jersey Non-Public, All-Passaic County and All-BPSL (Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League). He also established himself as a Division I prospect in basketball and received scholarship offers from

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

schools Providence and

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

after he spearheaded a defense that notched five shutouts and yielded just 41

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

on the year (3.7 points per game). In

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

, Clemmings notched a top-throw of 12.90 meters (42 feet, 3 inches) in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

as a senior in 2009. Regarded as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Clemmings was ranked as the state's No. 2 prospect and the country's No. 16 strongside

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. Scout.com rated him the No. 1 overall player in

and the nation's No. 6

prospect, as well as the country's No. 38 player overall. He was selected to PrepStar "Dream Team" and was rated one of the country's top 50 overall prospects by PrepStar. In June 2009, Clemmings committed to the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

to play

College career

Clemmings played defensive end his first three years at Pittsburgh. As a true freshman he appeared in eight games, making three tackles. After being

redshirted 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, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2011, Clemmings played in eight games in 2012 with six starts, finishing with 20 tackles. Prior to the 2012 BBVA Compass Bowl, he was switched from defensive end to

. In 2013, he became a full-time offensive tackle and started all 13 games at right tackle. Clemmings returned as a starter in 2014.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Clemmings entered the draft process as one of the top prospects in his position and likely a first round selection, but fell on draft boards presumably because of a report that surfaced in the week leading up to the

saying he had a stress fracture in his foot. At the 2015 NFL Combine, Clemmings was the best of all offensive linemen with a

vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

of 32.5 inches (0.83m) and a 4.54 20-yard shuttle. He also showcased his strength by benching 225 pounds 22 times.

Minnesota Vikings

Clemmings was selected by the

in the fourth round (110th overall) of the 2015 NFL draft. He was the tenth offensive tackle selected in the draft. He signed a four-year, $2,804,955 deal that includes a $524,955 signing bonus that's all guaranteed. Clemmings tied a franchise rookie record by starting all 16 games after the Vikings lost veteran starter Phil Loadholt at right tackle for the entire season due to an achilles injury. He joined an offensive line that helped running back Adrian Peterson lead the NFL in rushing with 1,485 yards and posted the fourth-ranked rushing attack in the league. After starting left tackle Matt Kalil was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on September 21, 2016, Clemmings was announced as the starter for the rest of the season. On September 2, 2017, Clemmings was waived by the Vikings.

Washington Redskins

Clemmings was claimed off waivers by the

on September 3, 2017. He was placed on injured reserve on November 16, 2017, with an ankle injury. On September 1, 2018, Clemmings was waived by the Redskins.

Oakland Raiders

On September 2, 2018, Clemmings was claimed off waivers by the

. He was placed on injured reserve on November 2, 2018, with a knee injury.

Chicago Bears

On May 31, 2019, Clemmings was signed by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He suffered a quadriceps injury in the preseason and was placed on injured reserve on August 27, 2019.

References

External links

Pittsburgh Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clemmings, T. J. 1991 births Living people Paterson Catholic High School alumni Players of American football from Teaneck, New Jersey American football offensive tackles American football defensive ends Pittsburgh Panthers football players Minnesota Vikings players Washington Redskins players Oakland Raiders players Chicago Bears players