Ralph Darrell Clayton is a former professional American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 wide receiver

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

 who played for the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 during the 1981 NFL season

1981 NFL season

The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.-Major rule changes:...

. He had been drafted in the second round of the 1980 NFL Draft

1980 NFL Draft

The 1980 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1980. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and...

 by the New York Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 with the 47th selection overall. In college he had played for the Michigan Wolverines football

Michigan Wolverines football

The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...

 team of the Big Ten Conference

Big Ten Conference

The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

. He attended Redford High School

Redford High School

Redford High School was a secondary educational facility in Detroit, Michigan. The school opened in 1924 and ceased operations in June 2007. Staffed and operated by the Detroit Public Schools; Redford High School served the sub-communities of Old Redford, Grandmont, Rosedale Park and...

 in Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

.

Michigan

He wore #22 and earned varsity letters for the 1977-1979

1979 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season saw the Alabama Crimson Tide bring home a national title with a perfect 12-0 season. The title was Alabama's 11th claimed, though the number is disputed. It was their 6th Associated Press awarded title....

 teams after wearing #26 on the junior varsity

Junior varsity

Primarily in North America, junior varsity or JV players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition , usually at the high school and college levels in the United States and Canada. The main players comprise the varsity team...

 as a freshman

Freshman

A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...

. He started

Starting lineup

A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...

 eight games as a sophomore, ten as a junior and twelve as a senior. The 1977 and 1978 teams won the Big Ten Championships and went to the Rose Bowl. The 1979 team went to the Gator Bowl

Gator Bowl

The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...

. In the January 2, 1978 Rose Bowl he led all Michigan receivers with 5 receptions and 84 yards. Although he did not start any games and did not earn a varsity letter, he played in several games as a Freshman for the 1976 Big Ten Champions. He carried the ball in six different games with a total of nine carries for 52 yards. In two of those games, he caught a pass. He returned a kickoff

Kickoff (American football)

A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team"...

 in another one of them and made a tackle

Tackle (football move)

Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....

 in another. In 1977, he caught the first touchdown of the season in which they defended their Big Ten Championship.

Statistics

At Michigan he accumulated 1393 yards receiving on a total of 67 receptions

Reception (American football)

In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...

 and had eleven touchdown

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

s. When his Michigan career ended he was fourth in career receiving yards and second in career receiving touchdowns. He also served as a kick returner

Kick returner

In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...

 and had a 20.4 yards/return average for 20 returns. He carried the ball occasionally and totaled 159 yards on 31 rush

Rush (American football)

Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...

es, including a 27 yard touchdown run against the Wisconsin Badgers football

Wisconsin Badgers football

The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...

 team in 1978. He led Michigan in receiving in both 1977 and 1978 with Rick Leach

Rick Leach (baseball player)

Richard Max "Rick" Leach is a former college football player and professional baseball player. He played quarterback at the University of Michigan from 1975 to 1978...

 as quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

, but finished third behind Doug Marsh

Doug Marsh

Doug Marsh is a former professional American football player who played tight end for seven seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals.-See also:*Lists of Michigan Wolverines football receiving leaders...

 and Anthony Carter as a senior with John Wangler

John Wangler

John "Johnny" Wangler is a former American football quarterback. He played for the University of Michigan from 1977 to 1980. During the 1979 and 1980 seasons, Wangler and Anthony Carter formed one of the most successful passing combinations in Michigan Wolverines football history...

at quarterback.