Devoted To The Craft
May 9th, 2015
The Buccaneers drafted Kaelin Clay and his four touchdown returns for the University of Utah last year to be the next Devin Hester, or at least a return man that won’t have Lovie Smith yearning for his Chicago days.
Joe went deep with Clay on the returner craft yesterday.
Clay isn’t just a receiver who returns kicks and punts, he’s a guy who’s in love with returning. His mindset, for years, has been dialed into be a legendary returner.
“I’ve been doing it since I was in little league football. You know, it’s’ something that I always wanted to do growing up and watching Devin Hester, DeSean Jackson, Santana Moss, Steve Smith; those guys are all like my size,” Clay said. “So it was something that I figured I could do and just something that I got good at.
“I told myself, ‘I’m going to perfect this and I feel like every day I’m perfecting it.”
“I watch a lot the great returners going back to when I was in high school. I used to go on YouTube and just type in their names and watch them do the returns. Then there was some film we had in college where we could go watch NFL film on the computer.”
If that’s not enough, Clay told Joe about how he relishes studying how teams kick the ball and come down in coverage.
Clay describes himself as “humble” and “a great kid.”
On the offensive front, Clay recognizes that he has plenty to learn. He didn’t play in a pro-style offense at Utah, and his previous two seasons were in junior college.
May 9th, 2015 at 11:03 am
I sure hope so…..but going back to Nino Silvan…..plenty of successful college returners have come into the NFL….things are dramatically different going against crazy angry grown men running full speed at you wanting to hurt you BAD…..
May 9th, 2015 at 11:07 am
America’s KR
May 9th, 2015 at 12:07 pm
I am humble. I am great. Lol.
May 9th, 2015 at 12:58 pm
Just make sure you run north/south not east/west
May 9th, 2015 at 2:47 pm
It could end up being the numbers game, where the team has to decide if they can keep a kick-returner who doesn’t fit into the receiving corps. He needs to make that a VERY difficult decision.
May 9th, 2015 at 3:40 pm
I hope he makes it as a return man. We need to give Winston good field position so he doesn’t feel that he has to be a one man show.
May 9th, 2015 at 3:45 pm
Joe says at the end that he didn’t play in a Pro style offense. We’re looking at him as a returner, right? So I’m wondering if he played in a Pro style Special teams!! Lol!!!
May 9th, 2015 at 4:48 pm
It seems rare that a rookie would have already chosen to focus on being a return man. With the number of plays we see TE’s and RB’s lineup at WR it seems very plausible that Clay could make the roster as the 5th WR, even if he needs significant work at the position.
It sure would be fun to have a quality QB and return-man. We’ve never been truly solid at either position.
May 9th, 2015 at 6:29 pm
It is highly improbable(though not impossible) that Clay makes the team as a WR. His best bet is that the Bucs have an extra spot for a returner, OR his preseason returns ‘force’ them to make a spot. He may turn into a decent receiver, but it is not likely, and if he does, it may take a season or two of ‘hanging around’.