A former NCAA national champion and first round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Michael Clayton is set to become the next head football coach at Plant City High School. He will be introduced at a pep rally on Friday.
“When his name came up as we were searching for a new head coach, we couldn’t wait to see what he had to offer,” Assistant Principal Randy Humphrey said. “He knows football obviously, being coached by Nick Saban at the college level, playing for the Buccaneers, all of those things. He knows football. But what actually stood out about him was his passion for helping young men, for motivating people, for encouragement and for strengthening and developing character in young athletes as a whole.”
Originally from Baton Rouge, Clayton was a five star prospect coming out of high school before committing to attend Louisiana State University. Once at LSU, Clayton totaled 2,582 receiving yards, 182 receptions and 22 total touchdowns over his three seasons with the Tigers, finishing his college career with a National Championship victory over Oklahoma in the 2004 Sugar Bowl. At the time, Clayton set a school record with 21 career receiving touchdowns and still sits second in career receptions, just one catch shy of LSU’s all-time mark.
Later that spring, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Clayton with the 15th overall pick in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He made an immediate impact as a rookie, leading the team with 80 receptions, 1,193 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Clayton was subsequently named to the 2004 NFL All-Rookie Team by the Pro Football Writers of America.
Clayton spent six seasons with the Bucs before being released in 2009, signing with the Giants in 2010 and spending two years with New York while being a part of their Super Bowl-winning roster in 2012.
Once out of football, Clayton has arguably found just as much success. A father of five, he’s owned and operated his own businesses in both Lousiana and Florida. He’s worked as a mentor and public speaker. He’s been a guest analyst for the Big Ten Network, NFL Network and CBS Tampa’s “Sports Extra.” For the past three season he’s co-hosted the Bucs’ pre-and post-game radio shows on local radio station 95.3 WDAE. Shortly after retirement, he even published a self-help book entitled “Chasing My Rookie Year” in 2013.
Clayton always saw coaching as a “Plan C” that fell behind playing football, building a life for himself after football and ensuring that he could spend time with his growing family. But when this opportunity arose to take an interview as a head coach with Plant City, after a long wait and the feeling that he had succeeded in his other endeavors, he followed his heart.
“It kind of happened organically for me and now I’m taking my family on this ride with the hope that along this journey we can win a state championship,” Clayton said. “The only level that I didn’t win a championship was in high school. I won a championship in college, I won a championship in the pros with the Giants and now I have the opportunity to shoot for a championship at the high school level as a head coach. It’s an opportunity for me to be a champion at all three levels but mainly an opportunity to pour into young people, something that’s grown to be my passion in life. Educating and motivating young people to be their very best self.”
Along with Clayton, he’s bringing some familiar coaches on staff with him in Kenny Kelly as offensive coordinator and Terrance Hicks, most recently a coach at Alonso High School, as defensive coordinator.
“I look forward to the challenge,” Clayton said. “I’ve never done it before but I feel like we’re building a great staff, I have a lot of support, I have a lot of help that I can call on and I’ve been there and done that. With all of that expertise and knowledge I think that we’re going to be able to be a highly competitive team. We’re going to set the bar high just like I was taught by Coach Saban back when I was in college.”
While the staff is beginning to come together, Humphrey said that the school is still looking to fill out some coaching spots.
Along with some new faces at the helm of Plant City’s football program, the entire football facility will have a new look in 2022 as well. Beginning on April 1, Plant City High School will begin the process of installing a new turf field, a new track around the field, a new scoreboard and a new video board.
“We’re excited for the opportunity to build, ” Humphrey said. “Not only are we getting a new head coach but we’ll be developing a new coaching staff, getting a new stadium with a new scoreboard. Everything about this just shows you that Plant City is fully invested in our athletes, into our school and into the program for the future.”