Willie Clay

For persons of a similar name, see William Clay.

Willie Clay

No. 32, 42
Position:	Safety
Personal information
Born:	(1970-09-05) September 5, 1970 (age 54) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:	193 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:	Linsly School (Wheeling, West Virginia)
College:	Georgia Tech
NFL draft:	1992 / round: 8 / pick: 221
Career history
Detroit Lions (1992–1995) New England Patriots (1996–1998) New Orleans Saints (1999)
Career highlights and awards
New England Patriots 1990s All-Decade Team National champion (1990) Second-team All-American (1991) 2× First-team All-ACC (1990, 1991)
Career NFL statistics
Tackles: 507 Interceptions: 27 Fumble recoveries: 6 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Willie James Clay (born September 5, 1970) is an American former professional football safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. He was selected in the eighth round (221st overall) of the 1992 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.^[1]

Clay was also a member of the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints.

Early life

Clay, who was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, attended Linsly High School in Wheeling, West Virginia where he earned twelve varsity letters playing football, basketball, and baseball.

While in college at Georgia Tech, he made 16 career interceptions to break the school record (formerly 14)^[2] and was part of the 1990 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team that won the NCAA national championship.

Professional career

Clay was drafted in the eighth round (221st overall) of the 1992 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions. He played for the Lions until 1995, after which he spent three seasons with the New England Patriots, and his final season with the New Orleans Saints. During his time with the Patriots, he earned the nickname "Big Play" for his interception during the Patriots victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship that sent the Patriots to the second Super Bowl in franchise history.

In March 2009, he was named a member of the New England Patriots 1990s All-Decade Team.

Personal life

Clay is the nephew of Dwight Clay who was a basketball player for the University of Notre Dame. Dwight Clay was nicknamed "The Iceman" and is famous for hitting the game winning jump shot that ended UCLA's NCAA all-time record 88-game winning streak on January 19, 1974.

References

1. "1992 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
2. "Georgia Tech Football Individual Career Leaders Archived June 2, 2011, at the Wayback Machine". Georgia Tech. Retrieved on January 25, 2008.