Provided he’s not in Minnesota, P.J. Fleck will have some Power Five linebacking help come the 2017 season.
On his Twitter account Tuesday, Na’jee Clayton intimated that he had decided to move on from Rutgers and would be joining Fleck’s Western Michigan football program. In a conversation with nj.com, the linebacker subsequently confirmed that Kalamazoo will serve as his new college football home.Stayed down & never questioned gods plan...back to doing what I love ! #RTB 🐴🏈
— Na’jee Clayton (@Jee_Sosa9) January 3, 2017
Clayton had left the Scarlet Knights in September for what were described as personal reasons. According to the website, there had been no communication between the player and the coaching staff from the time of his departure to his decision to move on to the Broncos.
A three-star 2015 recruit, Clayton was rated as the No. 14 player at any position in the state of New Jersey. After playing in six games on special teams as a true freshman, he played in two this season before leaving the team.
After sitting out the 2017 season to satisfy NCAA transfer bylaws, Clayton will have two seasons of eligibility remaining beginning in 2018.
Minnesota abruptly, but not surprisingly, fired Tracy Claeys as the football program’s head coach Tuesday evening. Fleck, who reached an agreement in principle on a new contract with WMU but hasn’t signed it yet as the two sides haggle over pay for his assistant coaches, has been mentioned prominently as a potential candidate to replace Claeys.