Becoming a household name overnight is usually a good thing for a college football player.
That's not the case for Utah wideout Kaelin Clay, who earned the dubious distinction of going viral on the internet after he dropped the football short of the goal line against Oregon, which the Ducks promptly ran back 100 yards for a touchdown. The 14-point, 178-yard swing helped cost the Utes a big upset win and led the team's now-No. 1 receiver to bury his head in the bench shortly afterward.
Having been there and done that exact same thing, Washington Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson -- who attended the same high school as Clay -- had some words of advice to the young pass catcher during a segment on NFL Network's Total Access this week.
"It's a bonehead mistake, so hopefully he learns from that. You know, I did that one time, but never ever are you going to see it again," Jackson said. "It's unfortunate, but hopefully he can learn from it and never have to do it again. But at the same time, the reason I did it, I was trying to get in the end zone and score and do my little dance, but unfortunately I let the ball go too early.
"Just let him know, you can't be down on yourself. Things happen."
Jackson, of course, made the play famous when it happened to him as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008 during a game against the Dallas Cowboys. That was on top of the infamous flip he did during the Army All-American Bowl during his senior year in high school, in which he landed short at the 1-yard line and fumbled. Safe to say if there's anybody who knows what Clay is feeling right now, it's Jackson.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Clay avoided watching the fumble -- now known as "The Drop" in Utah lore -- during the team's film review but has tried to keep his head up and move on from the incident in light of becoming a household name in the worst way possible.
"The people who know me and care about me, those are the people who I'm worried about, and this team," said Clay. "That's about it."
As Jackson remarked, hopefully the youngster will learn from his mistake and move on from it.
If nothing else, Clay can think positively back to his other viral sensation earlier in the season when he did the Heisman Trophy pose after a touchdown against Michgian. Those were the days.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
