In watching freshman wide receiver Jordan Clay, everyone at University of Washington spring football was left with little more than a movie trailer.<\/p>\n
Just a glimpse, a small window, actually more of a tease. <\/p>\n
Coming to a theater near you, Jordan Clay, this imposing 6-foot-3, 207-pound pass-catcher from Texas, capable of using his size to make leaping receptions in a single bound.<\/p>\n
In the first of 15 practices, UW coaches proved eager to see what he could do and it didn’t take long for them to put Clay with the No. 1 offense. Right away, he caught a pass from Demond Williams Jr. for 10 yards. <\/p>\n
During the second practice, he got his hands on a pair of 10-yard throws from back-up quarterback Elijah Brown, one in which he went airborne to make an impressive grab.<\/p>\n
For the third practice, Clay ran downfield to catch a 25-yard Williams pass in the middle of the field. <\/p>\n
“I think Jordan Clay is going to be awesome,” receivers coach Kevin Cummings said at that point. “I think he’s going to be amazing. I think his size, his physicality, is all there.”<\/p>\n
Yet the next thing you knew, the pass-catcher from San Antonio was seated on a training table, often with an ice bag pressed to his right leg, which would become a familiar scene for the rest of spring ball.<\/p>\n This is one in a series of articles — going from 0 to 99 on the UW roster — examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp. <\/p>\n One of the things the incoming freshmen and transfers learn right away is the Huskies’ do a lot of hard running, which sometimes results in an epidemic of pulled hamstring muscles.<\/p>\n For that very reason, Clay seemingly was available for only half of the spring practices, left to recover the rest of the time. <\/p>\n “We’ve got to see what Jordan Clay looks like day in and day out,” UW coach Jedd Fisch said. <\/p>\n The young receiver’s shining moment of the spring came in the sixth practice. With the Huskies’ first-unit offense on the 1, Clay ran to the back of the end zone, with cornerback Dylan Robinson all over him, and went up and came down with a ball that Williams lobbed to him ever so delicately.<\/p>\n It was such an inspiring play, offensive teammates both on the field and on the sideline rushed to the end zone to celebrate Clay’s heroics. <\/p>\n This group even included injured running back Jayden Limar, who wore a protective boot and used a crutch after having offseason surgery, but still had to be part of the fun-filled moment. <\/p>\n However, that would be Clay’s spring highlight. <\/p>\n For the seventh practice, held at the Seahawks’ VMAC facility, the first-year receiver was back on the training table, having aggravated whatever had sidelined him in the first place. <\/p>\n He would catch only one more pass the rest of the way, a 10-yarder in the Spring Game, again offering a sample of his skillset. <\/p>\n “Jordan had a big-time play on the sideline,” Fisch said. “He probably could have had another one.”<\/p>\n What he’s done: <\/strong>Clay appears capable of doing just about anything, hence his periodic snaps with the first-team offense. He was considered such a talent that Baylor had him committed before the Huskies flipped him late.<\/p>\n Starter or not:<\/strong> When healthy, Clay looks like starting material, just like freshmen Dezmen Roebuck and Raiden Vines-Bright did the year before. It shouldn’t be a surprise if he opens games this coming season.<\/p>\n![\"Football\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" "\\"Football\\""){kind=icon}
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