Kaelin Clay went from arguably the greatest athletic accomplishment of his career to the worst, most embarrassing play of his life.
The Utah receiver looked to have scored a 78-yard touchdown in a pivotal matchup with No. 4 Oregon. Clay ran down the field after making the catch and looked to have a clear path to the end zone.
Clay carried the ball over the goal line and dropped it in celebration — or so he thought. Clay actually dropped the ball before getting into the end zone.
Making matters worse for Clay and the Utes, Oregon was well aware of what just happened. Oregon’s Joe Walker alertly picked up the ball and sprinted back the other way. Walker went all the way, taking the ball 100 yards for the touchdown.
Clay was understandably embarrassed.
[tweet https://twitter.com/JB_Long/status/531293802963558400 align=’center’]
The “celebrating and dropping the football before crossing the goal line” move is nothing new. Washington Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson made that mistake when he was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. As SB Nation points out, in a weird coincidence, Clay and Jackson actually went to the same high school.
Oregon went on to win the game 51-27.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@gifdsports
GIFs via SB Nation
