Cameron Michael Clear (born February 25, 1993) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Texas A&M, and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers after going undrafted in the 2015 NFL draft. Clear has also been a member of the Indianapolis Colts, San Antonio Commanders, and Seattle Dragons.
| No. 85 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | February 25, 1993 Memphis, Tennessee |
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight: | 273 lb (124 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Memphis (TN) Central |
| College: | Texas A&M |
| Undrafted: | 2015 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
High school career
editDuring high school, Clear played football and basketball at Central High School in Memphis, Tennessee. As a power forward on his high school basketball team, he averaged 12 points and 4 rebounds a game for a team that ended with a record of 21–9 and finish fourth in the state.[1] On the football team he played tight end and defensive line. For his junior season in 2009, he hauled in a total of 26 receptions, for 412 receiving yards, and 2 touchdown receptions. As a defensive lineman he made 62 tackles and 11 sacks on the season. The following year, he amassed 18 catches, 250 receiving yards, 6 receiving touchdowns at tight end, as well as, 60 tackles and 8 sacks on defense. He finished his senior year ranked as the tenth overall defensive line prospect by Sporting News Top 100 for the class of 2011.
College career
editFreshman season
editComing out of high school, Clear committed to Tennessee. As a true freshman in 2011, he played tight end and special teams. Against Middle Tennessee in week 10 he made his only catch of the season for 4 yards. He received his first start during week 12 against Vanderbilt.
On May 25, 2012, Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley announced that Clear would be dismissed from Tennessee. This came after he was charged with felony theft for stealing a laptop from a member of the Vol's baseball team. Before he was kicked off the team, he was expected to be the second tight end on the depth chart behind future NFL Player Mychal Rivera.[2]
Sophomore season
editOn November 27, 2012, Clear officially committed to play tight end for Texas A&M University. Due to NCAA`s student transfer guidelines, Clear had to sit out his entire sophomore season as well as lose a year of eligibility. Since he wouldn't receive a scholarship until he was eligible, Clear transferred to Arizona Western College for his sophomore year.
Junior season
editAfter attending Arizona Western College and sitting out his sophomore season, he finally debuted for Texas A&M but ended up having a mediocre season for coach Kevin Sumlin. He finished his junior season with 4 catches, 42 receiving yards, and a single touchdown reception.
Senior season
editThe following year, he again had a disappointing season, ending his year with 5 catches and 34 receiving yards. After graduating from Texas A&M with a degree in communications and having no eligibility left, his only option was to declare for the 2015 NFL draft although it was highly unlikely he would be drafted due to his performance during his tenure at A&M.[3]
Professional career
edit2015 NFL Draft
editAlthough he was expected to go undrafted, Clear was still invited to perform at the NFL Combine. After the combine, the Pittsburgh Steelers scheduled a pre-draft visit with him and attended his pro day. A lot of scouts were skeptical due to the incident at Tennessee, concern with weight issues, and his lack of playing time throughout his collegiate career.[4]
Pittsburgh Steelers
editAs expected, Clear went undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft. On May 2, 2015, Clear announced on his Twitter account that he had been signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers.[5]
Clear was waived by the Steelers on September 15, 2015.
Indianapolis Colts
editOn February 16, 2016, Clear signed with the Colts.[6] He was waived on May 2, 2016.[7]
San Antonio Commanders (AAF)
editOn October 26, 2018, Clear signed with the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football.[8] The league ceased operations in April 2019.[9]
Seattle Dragons
editIn October 2019, Clear was drafted by the Seattle Dragons in the ninth round of the 2020 XFL Draft.[10] After missing the first two games of the season with a non-football injury, he was placed on injured reserve on February 18, 2020.[11] He was waived from injured reserve on March 12, 2020.[12]
References
edit- ^ Kozora, Alex (June 20, 2015). "Miscast In College, Steelers' Clear Fitting Into NFL Style Offense". Steelers Depot. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- ^ Sallee, Barrett (May 25, 2012). "Tennessee Football: Cameron Clear's Dismissal Hurts Tight End Depth". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
- ^ "FoxSports.com:Player Stats:Cameron Clear". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
- ^ "Draft Profile:Cameron Clear". NFL.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
- ^ Wheeland, Brandon (May 25, 2015). "Texas A&M Tight End, Cameron Clear, Headed to Steelers as an Undrafted Free Agent". Dallas News. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
- ^ "Indianapolis Colts make roster move". Colts.com. February 17, 2016. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- ^ "Indianapolis Colts make roster moves". Colts.com. May 2, 2016. Archived from the original on May 10, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "Commanders announce 6 signings: Oct. 26, 2019". 210 Football. October 26, 2018. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Rothstein, Michael; Wickersham, Seth (June 13, 2019). "Inside the short, unhappy life of the Alliance of American Football". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ Bender, Bill (October 21, 2019). "XFL Draft picks 2019: Complete results, rosters, players for new football league". Sporting News. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ Hanson, Scott (February 18, 2020). "XFL Seattle Dragons surpass 10,000 in season-ticket sales". SeattleTimes.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
- ^ "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
External links
edit- Career statistics from NFL.com · ESPN · Pro Football Reference
- Texas A&M Aggies bio
- Tennessee Volunteers bio