Wide receiver Devion Clayton poses before a workout at All American Park Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022.
Monday, Jan. 2, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Devion Clayton received a phone call asking him if he’d be interested in trying out for the XFL.
One problem: Clayton never played a down after high school.
The XFL was having a scouting showcase in Las Vegas, where evaluators would give the track sprinter Clayton a look in searching for up-and-comers to join the relaunch of the spring league.
Clayton hadn’t played since his senior season of 2015 at Silverado High School while focusing track, and when he got the call for the XFL, hadn’t run in a few months.
A week later, the 6-foot-3 Clayton ran a 4.34 second 40-yard dash at All-American Park to impress Vegas Vipers coach Rod Woodson.
“The kid comes out and runs with zero preparation,” said Woodson, the NFL Hall of Famer. “It wasn’t only his speed. It’s the speed combined with his size. That speed is tough to find, so why not give the kid a chance.”
The Vipers in November selected the wide receiver Clayton in the 10th round of the XFL Draft. The eight-team league starts in February, and teams open training camp this week in Dallas.
The Las Vegas wide receiver group includes Martavis Bryant, who played four seasons in the NFL, and Saeed Blacknall, who has been in a handful of NFL training camps and practice squads.
And then there’s Clayton, who hasn’t worn shoulder pads since high school. His lone experience: Playing in an adult flag football league in Las Vegas.
Clayton, 24, appears to be the lone player in the XFL player pool who didn’t compete in college. There’s even a Reddit post asking, “Who is WR Devion Clayton?”
“In the back of my mind, I was always thinking football,” Clayton said. “I wanted to get back into football. I just didn’t know how or when I would get the chance.”
Clayton attended a junior college in Arizona for track in 2016, but said he left after one semester because of a thigh injury. He was sitting around the house in Las Vegas when he got a phone call from a familiar coach: Randall Cunningham.
Cunningham, the NFL great, had been Clayton’s track coach since childhood in Las Vegas and also his football coach at Silverado.
“He’s like, ‘Let’s go train; it’s time to get moving again,’ ” Clayton said.
If Cunningham doesn’t make that call, Clayton likely isn’t heading to Dallas for training camp. What started out as staying in shape eventually developed into entering meets as Clayton eyed qualifying for international track competitions.
Clayton said he was technically a professional track athlete, although he was never paid. He instead worked odds jobs, such as stocking pet supply stores after hours to make ends meet.
“It was a lot of late nights,” he said.
Clayton is looking to become one of few athletes to break into the professional game by taking a nontraditional route.
There are players like Eric Swann, who was drafted sixth overall by the Phoenix Cardinals in 1991 despite not having played in college, or 30-year-old bartender Vince Papale, who made the Philadelphia Eagles. The movie “Invincible” was based on Papale’s journey.
“When I make it, that would also be a pretty good movie,” Clayton said.
But will he make it?
Clayton had 43 catches for 741 yards and seven touchdowns as a senior at Silverado, where he played one season after transferring from Palo Verde. In three years at Palo Verde, he mostly played defensive back.
While he’s played in adult flag football leagues, where he said many opponents are former college players, that is a far cry from being guarded and tackled by someone who has been in the NFL.
That’s where Woodson says the responsibility falls on the Vipers’ coaching staff to develop the unique talent. The Vipers’ wide receiver coach is Ray Sherman, who has three decades of experience coaching in the NFL and was Cunningham’s offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings.
Clayton says he’s fortunate to get a chance to fulfill his football dreams and realizes he was pegged to participate in the camp when many accomplished college players were passed over.
He knows nothing is guaranteed other than having six weeks in camp to prove himself for a roster spot. But he’s also confident that there aren’t many people in the league who can match his speed, knowing he can bring the Vipers a deep ball threat that’s coveted in football.
After all, if all goes according to Clayton’s vision, many will soon know the answer to: “Who is WR Devion Clayton?”
That answer: A professional football player.
