Chad Clifton

Chad Clifton

Clifton in 2007.
No. 76     Green Bay Packers
Offensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: June 26, 1976 (1976-06-26) (age 35)
Place of birth: Martin, Tennessee
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	Weight: 320 lb (145 kg)
Career information
College: Tennessee
NFL Draft: 2000 / Round: 2 / Pick: 44
Debuted in 2000 for the Green Bay Packers
Career history
Green Bay Packers (2000–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
2× Pro Bowl selection (2007, 2010) Super Bowl champion (XLV)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 9, 2011
Games played	164
Games started	159
Stats at NFL.com

Jeffrey Chad Clifton (born June 26, 1976) is an American football offensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Packers in the second round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee.

Early years

Clifton was born in Martin, Tennessee, and has twin sisters. Former Packers first round draft pick Justin Harrell is also from that city. At Westview High School in Martin, Clifton was an all-around athlete. He lettered four times in football, starting his last three seasons as a two-way player; he also was on the basketball team for three years. Throughout his high school years, Clifton played on the defensive tackle position and on tight end as a sophomore and offensive tackle in his junior and senior years. As a senior, he was named an All-American by Parade and Scholastic Coach magazines and received the Gatorade Circle of Champions "Player of the Year" award and Tennessee Class 2A Mr. Football lineman award.^[1]

College career

In 1995, Clifton enrolled at the University of Tennessee and redshirted his first year. From then on he was a fixture on the offensive line - starting one season at right tackle and three at left tackle.^[2] During these four years, the Tennessee Volunteers enjoyed great success with a 43-7 record and a win in the Fiesta Bowl following the 1998 regular season to claim the National Championship. Clifton was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference selection (1997 second team, 1998 first team) and a Sporting News second-team All-American as a senior.^[1]

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

During the 2000 NFL Draft, the Packers selected Clifton in the second round with the 44th overall choice.

Halfway through his rookie season, he took over the starting left tackle position and did not relinquish it thereafter. He enjoyed continue success during his second season when he established a reputation as one of the NFL's best and unheralded blindside blockers.

Clifton's 2002 season seemed as promising as his first two until November 24 when he suffered a severe pelvic injury after receiving a hit from the Tampa Bay Bucs defensive tackle Warren Sapp. Because the incident occurred after an interception with Clifton far from the play, Sapp received harsh criticism for his action. After the game, Sapp was involved in a profanity-laced argument with Packers coach Mike Sherman that was caught on camera. As a result of the injury, Clifton missed the rest of the season. He was hospitalized for almost a week and could not walk unaided for five more weeks. In 2005, the NFL Competition Committee agreed on new guidelines for "unnecessary roughness", making hits such as that suffered by Clifton illegal.^[3]

Clifton returned in 2003 to start all 16 regular season games and two more in the playoffs. He played all 1,031 offensive snaps that season and contributed to establishing a team record for fewest sacks allowed in a season (19).

Clifton in November 2006 during the Packers' Monday Night Football game against the Seattle Seahawks.

On January 23, 2008 it was announced that he would replace Seattle Seahawks tackle Walter Jones in the 2008 Pro Bowl. It was his first Pro Bowl. He went to Hawaii to the Bowl with teammates Donald Driver, Aaron Kampman, and Al Harris, as well as head coach Mike McCarthy. Brett Favre was scheduled to be in the Pro Bowl, but was replaced by Jeff Garcia.^[4]

On March 5, 2010, the Packers resigned Clifton to a 3 year, $20 million dollar contract, with $7.5 million guaranteed.

On 6 February 2011 he was part of the Green Bay Packers Team who won Super Bowl XLV.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Chad Clifton". Green Bay Packers. http://www.packers.com/team/roster/Chad-Clifton/caf68973-fcda-4c59-9b7e-3550b4e0a1ea. Retrieved July 18, 2011. 
2. ^ "Chad Clifton". Tennessee Volunteers. Archived from the original on January 24, 2001. http://web.archive.org/web/200101241428/http://www.utsports.com/teams/fbc/99bios/99bio_clifton.html. 
3. ^ New rule would fall under unnecessary roughness
4. ^ "Garcia, Schobel, Dockett, Cole, Albright added as injury replacements". ESPN. 2008-01-24. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3212177. Retrieved 2010-12-28. 

External links

• Green Bay Packers bio
• Tennessee Volunteers bio

Sporting positions
Preceded by Ross Verba	Green Bay Packers starting left tackles 2000–Present	Succeeded by incumbent

Persondata
Name	Clifton, Chad
Alternative names
Short description	American football offensive tackle
Date of birth	June 26, 1976
Place of birth	Martin, Tennessee
Date of death
Place of death