Clay Dean '21 Recruiting Profile

    Football is a sport that has impacted my life since I was just 6 years old. One of the biggest challenges coming into a new level of play is always size. I always played up in youth sports so I know what it's like to be smaller than everyone and work as hard as you can to catch up. Even leading into high school, being only 135 pounds going into my freshman year and playing limited snaps on varsity. I worked harder than anyone on my team in the weight room and on the field putting on 30-40 pounds going into my sophomore season and led my team, who made it to the state playoffs with the second seed, in tackles. Through those changes and hard work I put in it has set me up to be the leader I am today on a team with less than 20 players looking to win a league title.

    Academics have never truly been an issue for me, with my parents planting the importance of excelling academically at such a young age. Ever since I was in 4th grade I have been taking excelled classes through our gifted program in elementary school. I started taking high school classes in 7th grade and as a junior, I am taking all my core classes through CCP at Kent State University. I am also a member of the National Honor Society and volunteer through our local churches and community groups.