Claytor leaving Tech for NFL
Nick Claytor (75) is a native of Gainesville. JASON GETZ, AJC
Georgia Tech offensive lineman Nick Claytor will skip his senior season because he has opted to enter the NFL draft.
Underclassmen must declare to the NFL by Jan. 15.
Claytor, a 6-foot, 6-inch, 285-pound tackle, started 15 games in his career. The Yellow Jackets led FBS (formerly Division I-A) in rushing in the 2010 season, averaging 323.3 yards per game. He didn’t return an e-mail.
Coach Paul Johnson said last week that he didn’t think any players were leaving school early. He said that a few juniors had asked to be evaluated by the NFL’s draft advisory panel, but didn’t think any of them would be leaving yet to play professionally. Claytor said that he was planning to return to school for his final season during preparations for the Independence Bowl. He is 10 hours shy of completing his management degree.
Claytor’s decision means Tech will enter the 2011 season without three regulars on the offensive line: Claytor, starting center Sean Bedford and tackle and part-time starter Austin Barrick, both of whom have used up their eligibility. Phil Smith will be the only player returning with considerable experience at tackle.
Claytor’s decision is curious. He wasn’t included in ESPN personality Mel Kiper’s list of top-five underclassmen at the tackle position that he posted on Nov. 17. He has yet to be added to the ESPN player database pool for the draft as of Wednesday afternoon. However, he is one of two underclassmen at the tackle position who have declared as of Wednesday morning. The other is Tyron Smith of USC. Those exclusions don’t mean that Claytor won’t play in the NFL. Former Tech guard Cord Howard went undrafted after his senior season last year, but signed with Buffalo as a free agent and started four games.
A native of Gainesville, Claytor was one of the nation’s top-rated recruits in high school. He enrolled and redshirted his freshman season at Tech in 2007 under former coach Chan Gailey.
Tech has had five players, including Claytor, become early entrants in the draft in the past two years: Derrick Morgan, Demaryius Thomas, Morgan Burnett and Jonathan Dwyer are the others. Morgan and Thomas were selected in the first round, Burnett the third and Dwyer the sixth.
– Doug Roberson, AJC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
108 comments Add your comment
NYJacket
January 12th, 2011
8:47 pm
Best of luck to you Nick.
Hewitt's Heroes
January 12th, 2011
8:56 pm
Wow…….
Our boys are looking GREAT against Clemson right now……
woodie
January 12th, 2011
9:13 pm
I think Tech should roll Hewitt’s contract over….
Good grief
January 12th, 2011
9:20 pm
“There is NO OTHER FANBASE in the history of sports more delusional than the Techies.” And there is not other FANBASE more obnoxious than the rednecks from athens. Keep hating losers.
A Rob
January 12th, 2011
9:32 pm
the triple option will do us in. plain & simple. this is just a side effect, losing a jr who is not ready but could really help us next season.
Hayseed Dixie
January 12th, 2011
9:43 pm
WrexNeffex is Oswald Bates.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TexL-eyZHzo
Tech Man
January 12th, 2011
9:56 pm
I wish him well but he will never make it in the NFL.. Maybe on some team’s practice squad. He never lived up to his potential in college. Good luck though, stranger things have happened, By the way..FIRE HEWITT.
Coleman Rudolph'
January 12th, 2011
10:06 pm
Another player opting to get away from Paul Johnson……anyone else see a pattern?
Coleman Rudolph's Facemask
January 12th, 2011
10:09 pm
Another player elects to leave Coach Paul Johnson’s program…..I wonder what round he was projected to be picked……does anyone else see something wrong?
Memphis Mike
January 12th, 2011
10:10 pm
“But we’re in the SEC just like Auburn, Alabama, LSU, and Florida!”
–Georgia fan base.
Buzz Me
January 12th, 2011
10:16 pm
Hey Nick remember Dwyer and Gani…don’t make the same stupid mistake
surfrider
January 12th, 2011
11:31 pm
Good luck. Tech needs defensive strength, a couple of sure handed receivers…ala Watkins, Robinson, Hill, Raible, and a focus on special teams. Then the only thing beating Tech will be Tech itself.
4 Jacks
January 13th, 2011
12:15 am
He want even be drafted. Will end up signing on as a free agent and will have to “earn” a position on a team even if he can. I hate it for the kid, as he has some talent, but whoever he is listening to (cheap agent or family member) is feeding him some bad info. He is on nobody’s and I mean nobody’s radar. He is 10 hours from a great degree, and another year when this team bounces back, should make this a no brainer, but apparently kids, yes even our “smart” GT kids can’t see what the smart thing to do here is. I wish the young man all the luck he can get, making decisions like this I feel like he is going to be needing all the good luck he can muster. Thanks Mr. Claytor for your time and service, you have alot of potential.
atlantafanatic
January 13th, 2011
12:21 am
@Wise Owl
Good one bro
GainesvilleJacket
January 13th, 2011
3:44 am
I see a pattern here, redshirt players who can graduate before starting their senior year must get accepted into the graduate school at Tech in order to compete in their senior year. This forces 5th year seniors to either transfer to other schools (like Ga. State) with appropriate graduate programs or enter the NFL draft.
Stinger 2
January 13th, 2011
4:38 am
Regardless of all these comments, the bottom line is GT lost a player that would have been a starter and helped the team hopeully improve in 2011. Not good given the
limited caliber of players that GT currently is able to recruit.
stan
January 13th, 2011
6:38 am
good luck kid
Cloudmanjacket
January 13th, 2011
8:18 am
@NYJacket
I am a tech fan and I think the point is we use academics as an excuse why we cannot get top players, but we have a management degree created just for athletes. The majority of the football and basketball players are getting a management degree.
As a tech fan, please just quit making excuses. I am not going to make any. We suck because our coach sucks. It is MUCH harder to get top players at Army, but they found a way to beat us. We lost to 6 UNRANKED teams in CPJ’s 3rd season with his players. NO EXCUSE.
Don’t give me that crap that he won the ACC last year. The ACC was terrible last year. Just look at the bowls. Then, we turn around and lost to a terrible MUTTS team and got embarrassed by Iowa in the bowl.
gt45
January 13th, 2011
8:53 am
Cloudman, that would be AF-you sure you’re a Tech man? Goodluck, Nick. I would love to see you stay, though. It would be good for you and the program.
Rick
January 13th, 2011
9:31 am
Message to those who want hewitt out. Especially the big money guys.
Just bet against tech. It’s a sure way to make money and oust this loser.
WHO'S INSECURE???
January 13th, 2011
9:36 am
Interesting that a mutt would log onto a Tech blog and claim that Tech fans are insecure. That is irony personified. Whoever posted that comment is a total hypocrite.
Gatorman
January 13th, 2011
9:56 am
I think Claytor is a good (but not great player), but this may be a symptom of players not wanting to play another year in PJohnson’s system. They’re taking a chance someone will pick them up.
William Bell
January 13th, 2011
10:10 am
He knows that another season of having to dive at ankles instead of improving as an actual blocker can only hurt his chances of playing pro ball more. Get out before you forget everything about playing the position nick!
William Bell
January 13th, 2011
10:11 am
PS- lost by 25 tonight at littlejohn. Notice how there hasnt been any basketball stuff on here for a while??
Bamajacket
January 13th, 2011
10:15 am
Interesting about Claytor. Maybe it’s the graduating this spring. Maybe something else. None of us know his mind. The percentages don’t seem to make sense, though. Whatever. There are plenty of 6′6″ 285 lb tackles out there. CPJ needs to find a few who want to play football. I don’t care who is in those jerseys. I just want to see some effort and execution. Best of luck to Nick. I hope he made the right choice.
Another Chan kid? Hmmmm, um, ah what about ...
January 13th, 2011
10:25 am
Have ANY of CPJ’s kids turned pro yet? He HAS been coach for three years, thusly, suggesting that his kids should be ready to go pro from his first frosh class. Is he not coaching them up? Has he not developed his kids? After all, this is CMR’s failure ………… right???
This is yet one more reason to understand why GT is in deep T with CPJ AND CPJ’s recruits.
Let’s play some basketball Techers …………….soon. Whoops, we already did.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHHAHAHAA
blazer
January 13th, 2011
10:29 am
Claytor leaving-a surprise!!!!
Hewitt losing another game-NO surprise!!!
GTBob
January 13th, 2011
10:35 am
Cloudmanjacket, you really should read up on the history of the College of Management at Georgia Tech before insinuating that the degree was created just for Athletes. The degree is ranked pretty high nationally and has been around over 70 years. Athletes take it because it is one of the few majors they may not flunk out of after one semester.
threetrone
January 13th, 2011
10:49 am
Re: Delbert D.’s comment…the mustard gold is known as old gold; it is darker than gold and vegas gold; Tech has never worn old gold in their helmets; in the early 70’s when I was there, the white helmets had metallic-looking, shiny gold GT’s w/black pin stripes around them; when white helmets were worn by Gailey’s team for the 70’s theme game against Virginia, the GT’s were yellow with black pin stripes around them; they were not old gold; everybody and their brother wears gold- Notre Dame, UCLA, Navy, Army, Colorado, Washington, just to name a few; sure gold is available, but Tech is not just any school; it has old football tradition; I look at old gold uniforms as a nice dark gold glass of a particular bourbon, and the darker the better since that’s the oldest stuff; I don’t look at the color as having anything to do with food; also, every team paints their helmets again between games; if they didn’t, at the end of the season the helmets would be as multicolored as a rainbow
Texas Wreck
January 13th, 2011
11:01 am
Why aren’t all the UGA fans over on their posting about Robinson being arrested for the third time-felony possession of drugs, resisting arrest, beating his girlfriend. This is the same Jack Wagon who spent the entire fourth quarter of the game in Atlanta cursing and taunting the Tech fans in the stands. And what is that, 14 arrests in one calendar year for the DAWGS?? Go away. Tech fans, buck up and stay the course. Expectations were raised and not met. That will not be allowed to stand. PJ puts a player on the field and will not change out. If they get in his doghouse, career over. He needs to adjust better. He needs to be a better coach than that.
yella fella
January 13th, 2011
11:07 am
He needs to get a degree in Engineering to be worth anything…. general Management degree not !!!
threetrone
January 13th, 2011
11:21 am
Why in the Hell should Claytor stay at Tech if CPJ discontinued those snazzy old gold striped uniforms? Old gold is hard to come by at Tech, like trying to prospect for gold in the old west and now by using a pan in a stream. I remember when my dad, also a Tech grad like me, took me to the old College Inn, “The Robbery”, in the basement of the admin building on a campus visit in about ‘68. There was a gorgeous old gold rectangular felt pennant with Georgia Tech on it hanging up in there. When I got there in ‘69, the CI was closed, or about to close a year later, with the new Student Center building taking it’s place and the bookstore there. There was never any old gold pennant in there, or old gold anything. There continues to be no old gold online. Tech needs as much old gold as they can get. This vegas gold desert shade of gold is planning for hot weather too much. Old gold is a Fall color, like leaves in the N GA mountains at Brasstown Bald and Tallulah, and like around ATL.
juvenal
January 13th, 2011
11:57 am
richest Tech fan around here is an im grad….what’s more delusional than a dauug fan what thinks uga relevant to top tier college football…….
Cmon man
January 13th, 2011
1:14 pm
texas wreck who cares about robinson being arrested he was kicked off the team a long time ago! You are trying way to hard my friend
CuriousGeorge
January 13th, 2011
1:29 pm
Good grief…what a bunch of ugag losers…what? you clowns run out of disk space for your own blog, posting about how you missed the NC by what, only 7 games? The soaking your head in chicken fat thing just isn’t working out, ugaggers.
bill
January 13th, 2011
1:30 pm
DuluthDawg…..Claytor was a three star by most of the recruiting services. He hasn’t played that well, so the decision is really curious. You have to wonder about academics when you see this. If he can’t run block every down on a high level in this offense, he won’t get drafted. Maybe he will get a shot in Canada or Buffalo.
William Bell
January 13th, 2011
1:46 pm
NFL scouts will find lots of good tape of Mr Claytor chop blocking and diving at knees/ankles. They covet that kind of skill in the NFL!!!!
Brock
January 13th, 2011
1:47 pm
so how’d the BB team do last night?
Wake up Dan!!
T-man
January 13th, 2011
1:54 pm
Gee… I wonder if CPJ will now start recruiting some OL instead of stock piling running backs?
GTBob
January 13th, 2011
2:05 pm
Hey Doug, are we ever getting a basketball blog again? Have you been asked not to blog about basketball anymore because of the obvious responses it is going to get?
Don Corleone
January 13th, 2011
2:30 pm
“Mr. Radakovich, I’ll make him (PH) an offer he can’t refuse”
juvenal
January 13th, 2011
2:44 pm
all you guys dogging drad, you gonna buy tix if cph goes? don’t chan still have 1 more year? then would be years b4 GT can afford to change any coaches……..
Brock
January 13th, 2011
3:07 pm
absolutely, faster than you can say “juvenal” juvenal. I will not and have not bought one single ticket or watched one single game this year. I was approached with center court 5th row tickets this year (new year day game) from a friend and refused to take them. He is also no longer my friend since he contributed this vile contract. Once PH is gone, I will again support the Jackets BB team.
Buzz
January 13th, 2011
3:16 pm
Good Luck Nick. If you can’t make it in the NFL you can graduate with a real college degree. That means you will have something you can contribute to society other than turning off the lights at the local ball field which is what athletes with degrees from other unmentioned schools do.
@texas wreck
January 13th, 2011
3:41 pm
Probably because he was kicked off the team last spring.
classic
January 13th, 2011
3:41 pm
must be a gt blog with all this pompous talk about degrees and jobs… haha.
Dawgtards ruin this state
January 13th, 2011
4:01 pm
Hey dipsticks – all NFL teams use chop blocks!
Genuine or Gimmick?
January 13th, 2011
4:03 pm
Brock – You sound like you’re a great friend, stay away Tech BBall doesn’t need you.
Jorge O'leary
January 13th, 2011
4:42 pm
Ill bet tech wishes they still had me. And Dawg fans..10-6? Really? You can’t turn your cupcake team into a bunch of winners. It will take a couple more years to flush out your 5 star doormats. Ucf owns you!
Farnsworthy
January 13th, 2011
5:11 pm
Next maybe Blewitt will leave.