30 Greatest Tigers of the Decade: #14 Michael Clayton
by Poseur on Jan 19, 2010 12:00 PM CST
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Lost in how great the 2003 defense was this simple fact: the offense could score seemingly at will. And one of the big reasons for that was Michael Clayton, one of the most prolific wide receivers in LSU history. He is near the top of the LSU record book in almost all receiving categories: #2 in receptions with 182 (to Wendell Davis), #2 in yards with 2,582 (to Josh Reed), and #2 in touchdowns with 21 (to Dwayne Bowe). Clayton may have been the most complete wide receiver in LSU history.
He made an immediate impact in his freshman year in 2001 as the second option with Reed. The two combined for over 200 yards per game. He caught 47 balls for 754 yards and 7 TD, the seven TD's were the most by a Tiger freshman since Dalton Hilliard. Heck, he even made seven tackles on special teams. So he was just a product of being the #2 guy to Josh Reed?
Nope. Clayton answered any lingering doubts to his own greatness in his sophomore year. He caught 57 balls for 749 yards and 5 TD. He also blossomed into LSU's "clutch" receiver, as he has 21 third down catches which resulted in a first down or a touchdown. He continued his All Everything role, making 11 special tackles and even playing both ways in the Cotton Bowl. He caught 6 balls for 88 yards in the Cotton Bowl, and made three tackles as the team's free safety. So if you want a good bar bet, stump your friends with the question of "who was LSU's last 60-minute man in football?" The answer: Michael Clayton.
He led the SEC in both receptions and yards in his junior year with 78 and 1,079 respectively. His 10 TD's ranked second among receivers. His 1000 yard season was only the fifth in LSU history (Martin 1983, Davis 1986, Reed 2000 and 2001), as he established himself as one of the all-time great LSU receivers. He made another 14 special teams tackles, giving him 35 career tackles. Not bad for a wide receiver. He was the best offensive player on the 2003 National Champions, and an All-American, and he was a significant contributor on the 2001 SEC Champions.
The greatest thing about Clayton isn't just that he is near the top of the LSU record book, though he is. It's not even his staggering consistency, as he's the only LSU receiver with three straight 700-yard seasons and he caught a ball in every one of the 40 games he appeared in. It's his toughness. When you think wide receivers, you tend to think of spoiled divas. Michael Clayton was a receiver who took just as much pride in blocking downfield as he did in making a big catch. It is an ethic that has passed down from each LSU star receiver through the decade. If you don't block, you don't play. And that's because of Clayton, who was a better blocker, and receiver, than just about all of ‘em.
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A buddy of mine asked me to name my top 5 favorite football players of the decade the other day.
Michael Clayton was number one on my list.
He was so incredible. I’m surprised he wasn’t in the top 10 of this list. One thing you didn’t mention about Clayton was how he never dopped passes. We’ve had a lot of great WRs at LSU over the last 10 years, but nearly all of them had problems with the drops at some point. Not Clayton.
Two reasons he's not top ten
ONE – It’s not the top ten football players. There’s too many sports to represent and he got squeezed out. He is easily in if it’s just football.
TWO – It’s not just favorites, it’s greatest. I love Michael Clayton as well, but (spoiler alert!) he’s clearly the #2 receiver of the decade. You can guess #1. It’s really hard to put the #2 receiver in the top ten. Particularly when he wasn’t 1st team All American.
But yeah, I love Clayton as well. He did everything.
Fake Pundit. Real Fan.
http://www.andthevalleyshook.com
I swap him and Dwayne Bowe back and forth
But Clayton will always have a special place in my heart.
Little known fact — Nick Saban would have loved to move Clayton to safety full time (dude was a NASTY hitter in high school), but Clayton (and his parents) wouldn’t go for it full-time.
Not even sure it would have been a bad move — Mike was the kind of guy that could have played any position I think.
by Billy Gomila on Jan 19, 2010 1:21 PM CST up reply actions
Wait I assume #1 is Josh Reed
Do you really think it’s Dwayne Bowe?
As to your second point, Saban wanted to move everyone to safety. He wanted to move MATT MAUCK to safety. If it were up to Saban you’d run a defense with 11 safeties patrolling around.
by 4.0 Point Stance on Jan 19, 2010 1:46 PM CST up reply actions
It's Poseur's list
But I’m sure Reed’s the guy he has up there. I’m just pointing out Dwayne Bowe as well — he was arguably better than Clayton (as I said I go back and forth on it, but you can at least make the argument).
by Billy Gomila on Jan 19, 2010 1:50 PM CST up reply actions
The drama!
Both are great. One is greater. Actually, one of the surprises is the great players left off this list. I dropped off some guys who won SEC Player of the Year in their sports given the rest of their career. It was hard to make cuts.
But come on, you’re really not sure on this one?
Fake Pundit. Real Fan.
http://www.andthevalleyshook.com
I go back and forth
Bowe put up some pretty sick numbers (compared to Clayton — if there’s ambiguity I am not comparing either of those to Josh Reed).
Like I said I go back and forth…I could see putting either one up there.
But this is why making these lists is HARD lol. Making the SEC All-Decade team was brutal.
by Billy Gomila on Jan 19, 2010 2:26 PM CST up reply actions
No drama here.
- is obviously Josh Reed. He is still the record holder for catches in a game at 19 (I think) and it was AT Bama. He won the Bilitnekoff (sp?) for pete’s sake!
Dwayne Bowe was great…After he had his Lasik surgery. My memory of D.Bowe is that he dropped more important passes than he caught pre-Lasik. I’m a HUGE D.Bowe fan, but really most of that legendary status was built in 2006.
I loved MC because he reminded me of JR
AND he blocked (slober knocked people to the ground) better than any wide receiver I’ve ever seen.
GEAUX TIGERS!!!
Yes
I’m not surprised by Reed, who was a smallish converted running back, but Clayton seemed like a prototype NFL receiver: big, physical, still pretty fast, athletic as all hell, and able to contribute in the run game and special teams. He had a great rookie year and then… nothing.
Fake Pundit. Real Fan.
http://www.andthevalleyshook.com
tampa fans don't exactly love him....
he has only stayed on the team b/c of his superior blocking ability. He saved all his drops for the pros.
Especially after his rookie year
There’s been rumors of off-the-field and work-ethic issues though.
When you look at the NFL players produced in the Saban era, I think its funny that the lower-drafted (or undrafted) players (Bradie James, Jarvis Green, Randall Gay) have had the better careers than the high picks.
by Billy Gomila on Jan 19, 2010 3:50 PM CST up reply actions
Don't forget
If I remember correctly, he was also the holder on extra points. His outstanding hands came in handy there as well. Poseur stated of Marcus Spears:
“Outside of Kevin Faulk, he might be the single most important recruit signed by LSU after the Hallman Era. "
I would replace Spears with Michael Clayton in that statement. Clayton was an elite recruit among elite recruits at a marquee skill position. He contributed in a high profile way as a freshman (some of his freshman catches were ridiculous!) and became a great team leader. I believe that Michael Clayton showed Louisiana skill position players that they could stay home (or close to home), succeed at the highest level, and be drafted early. This isn’t Spears bashing, as I agree with everything else Poseur said about him. It’s just how highly I regard Clayton’s contribution to LSU football.
Clayton/Reed/Bowe
1) It’s Reed. We’re comparing LSU careers here. Reed’s numbers were obscene.
2) During Clayton’s first year I told Poseur that I think he’s actually better than Reed, but Reed demands more passes because he knows the system better and is more established/reliable. Clayton never put up the sort of numbers Reed did in 2001, but he seemed to be a more complete receiver to me. A couple years later, I was saying Bowe looked like he had even better WR skills than either of them, and once he got his eyes fixed and moved up to be our #1 WR, he became a monster. It’s not a matter of short memory and thinking the current guy is better, because I never thought Doucet or Lafell as good as Bowe. I think both of them are better WRs than Reed. Ironically, Reed put up college stats that none of them could match, though.
Compare them in the NFL. In 8 seasons Reed has 311 receptions for 3575 yards and 10 TDs. In 6 seasons Clayton has 221 catches for 2936 yards and 10 TDs. In 3 seasons Bowe has 203 receptions for 2606 yards and 16 TDs.
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