I'll be posting a full story tomorrow AM to much of the below effect, but I just wanted to relay a few thoughts of my own regarding Colorado freshman tailback Ashaad Clayton.
Monday night, he was made available to us in the media for the first time.
I have to say, having covered his somewhat tumultuous recruitment (when Florida was trying to nab him from CU late before the Feb. 2020 signing day) and then watching him at times on Twitter tweet (and quickly delete) some cryptic stuff on the regular, that really was the only basis upon which to formulate any sort of opinion on the kid.
I say that not as if that created a negative connotation in my mind, but frankly, Clayton had been something of an enigma to me.
I could not have been more impressed with the kind of young man he appears to be, however, having talked with him for about 10 minutes tonight.
He was really open and truthful about the struggles he faced last year in transitioning from New Orleans to Boulder, being away from his mom and grandma for the first time in his life and having to adjust through COVID as well as battle the frustration that came with not playing all that much.
I came away with the opinion that Clayton is a humble and thoughtful young man, who really seems to be growing as a person and player as his tenure in Boulder grows. Clayton even went as far to say that it wasn't until this January, when he returned to Boulder from New Orleans after opting out of the Alamo Bowl, that CU started to feel like a second home to him.
It really did put a smile on my face to be able to attach a personality to Clayton after following/covering him for so long without ever getting the chance to talk to him.
Now that I know a bit about him, I think I can say with confidence that he'll be an easy guy to root for.
Monday night, he was made available to us in the media for the first time.
I have to say, having covered his somewhat tumultuous recruitment (when Florida was trying to nab him from CU late before the Feb. 2020 signing day) and then watching him at times on Twitter tweet (and quickly delete) some cryptic stuff on the regular, that really was the only basis upon which to formulate any sort of opinion on the kid.
I say that not as if that created a negative connotation in my mind, but frankly, Clayton had been something of an enigma to me.
I could not have been more impressed with the kind of young man he appears to be, however, having talked with him for about 10 minutes tonight.
He was really open and truthful about the struggles he faced last year in transitioning from New Orleans to Boulder, being away from his mom and grandma for the first time in his life and having to adjust through COVID as well as battle the frustration that came with not playing all that much.
I came away with the opinion that Clayton is a humble and thoughtful young man, who really seems to be growing as a person and player as his tenure in Boulder grows. Clayton even went as far to say that it wasn't until this January, when he returned to Boulder from New Orleans after opting out of the Alamo Bowl, that CU started to feel like a second home to him.
It really did put a smile on my face to be able to attach a personality to Clayton after following/covering him for so long without ever getting the chance to talk to him.
Now that I know a bit about him, I think I can say with confidence that he'll be an easy guy to root for.
