The Clayton family has left their mark on the Buchholz football program over the last 10-plus years.
Marcus Clayton, who was a member of the 2019 University of West Florida team that won the NCAA Division II Football Championship, was a three-year starter as a cornerback and kick returner for coach Mark Whittemore from 2013-2015.
He broke up an NCAA championship game record four passes in the 48-40 title game win against Minnesota State.
Matthew Clayton, who was a first team All Area selection at Bucholz in 2020, finished his senior year with 43 tackles, four sacks, and 11 tackles for a loss.
He played in all 11 games last year with six starts at linebacker for Wofford College.
Another brother, Jeffrey Clayton, was an OT/DE for Suwannee (Live Oak), where he graduated in 2014.
But the best of the Clayton bunch is edge rusher Nick Clayton, who is the top-rated defensive player in the area from the Class of 2025.
The rising senior, who is ranked No. 43 overall in Florida by 247Sports, will spearhead a program that has produced Division-I talent on the defensive side of the ball the past couple of years.
“He comes from a long line of collegiate athletes in the Clayton family,” Whittemore said. “Nick is a permanent captain, he and R.J. Livingston. We felt like we had a great spring. Although we lost the likes of Myles Graham and Kendall Jackson, we feel like we can continue to morph and still be excellent.”
Last December, Graham signed with the University of Florida while Jackson inked with Texas A&M.
Two years ago, defensive end Gavin Hill signed with the Gators.
Clayton (6’5, 220) will look to carry on the tradition of Buchholz’s defense, which only allowed 13.6 points per game in 2023.
“We lost about 20 seniors last year and they were all pretty big parts,” he said. “All of our linebackers last year were seniors so being a leader of this defense is a big thing for me.”
Last year as a junior, Clayton finished with 52 total tackles, eight tackles for a loss, three sacks and 10 quarterback hurries.
He said the loss to Lakeland in last year’s state semifinals has served as motivation for this season.
“It always gets brought up,” he said. “It was a hard game. We knew we should have won that game but we’re going to get back after it. We’re going to get back to where we were and try to go win a state championship.”
He’s also happy about Whittemore coming back and Chuck Bell remaining on staff as the team’s defensive coordinator.
“It’s definitely a big thing,” Clayton said. “I love both of those coaches. My brothers were there before I got there and had a pretty good relationship with both of them. Coach Bell will be my defensive end coach and defensive line coach, and Coach Whitt has been a part of my family for 12 years so getting him back is always a great thing.”
After offers from Florida State University, Tulane, UCF, and Nebraska, he committed to Wisconsin this past June.
“Wisconsin was the perfect scheme for me,” he said. “I loved it, my family loved it. All the coaching staff really loved me when I was there. They showed that they wanted me and that was the biggest thing for us, a team that wanted us and our family. They showed a lot of things that other teams didn’t so that’s why I picked Wisconsin.”
But first, he will turn his attention to his final season of high school football.
Clayton said the game he’s looking forward to the most is at Vanguard (Ocala) on Friday, Aug. 23.
“Just because it’s the first game of the season,” he said. “I’m excited to get back after it with the guys. It was definitely a great game at their place. We always have a lot of fun either way. It could be our home game or their home game, it’s always going to be a great game.”
Last year Buchholz defeated Vanguard, 30-10, in Gainesville but two years ago it took a 37-yard field goal by Reed Rousseau with 14 seconds to play to get the win, 24-21, in Ocala.