Zachary Alan Clayton (born January 1, 1988) 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 ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

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

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

in the seventh round of the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

. 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 ...

at Auburn.

Early life

Clayton played three years of football at Auburn High School in

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama. The population was 76,143 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Auburn metropolitan area, Alabama, Aubu ...

, as well as excelling in the discus and shot put for the 9-time state champion

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

. Midway through his junior season a move required him to transfer to rival Opelika High School in

Opelika, Alabama Opelika (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Alabama, Lee County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States censu ...

, where he finished his high school career in 2005. He was named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association 6A All-State Team as a senior. Clayton was considered a two-star recruit by Rivals.com in 2006.

College career

Clayton redshirted his freshman year at Auburn in 2006, and saw action in 10 games in 2007. He started one game in 2008, totaling 22 tackles and finished 15th in the SEC in sacks per game as a sophomore. Clayton's junior season in 2009 was marred by injury and he only played in six games, with seven tackles on the season. 2010 saw Clayton start all 14 games, with 28 tackles (8 tackles for loss), including three tackles and one sack in the

2011 BCS National Championship Game The 2011 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game to determine the national champion of the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

vs. the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

Professional career

Clayton was taken with the 212th overall pick in the seventh round of the

by the

. He played in three games for the Titans during the 2011 season. He was released by the team on August 30, 2013.

References

External links

Auburn Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Zach 1988 births Living people American football defensive tackles Auburn High School (Alabama) alumni Auburn Tigers football players Sportspeople from Opelika, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama Sportspeople from Champaign, Illinois Tennessee Titans players