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Faith, 8-man football, and MVP camp: Clayton Hood's unconventional path to Georgia

RUSTYby: Rusty Mansell05/29/25RustyMansell_
Clayton Hood Georgia
Photo: MVP Camp

The game of football is full of wild stories and unconventional paths. Clayton Hood is aiming to write the next chapter. The small-town South Georgia athlete is headed to UGA as a preferred walk-on but his journey to this point is one that few, if any, have taken. It includes eight-man football, a trip to MVP Camp, and unwavering commitment to his faith.

Hood, who’ll play linebacker at Georgia, is impressive on the hoof, standing 6-foot-2 and tipping the scales at 220 pounds. Those dimensions are shared by athletes who have four and five stars beside their names and enter college with six, maybe seven, figure NIL deals.

Hood, however, didn’t play quite the same sport as most others at the high school level. The David Emmanuel Academy standout was part of a program so small that it had to compete in Georgia’s small eight-man football league.

His mother, Allison, remembers being told that her son wouldn’t get a chance to play college ball while competing in that league. The Hoods didn’t necessarily believe that those people were wrong, or at least their reasoning wasn’t wrong. They were just committed to a place they felt was building their son to be the best man he could be.

“To be honest, it wasn’t hard at all,” Allison Hood said of their decision to keep Clayton enrolled at the small private school. “Faith and family comes first. Clayton went to David Emanuel Academy, a small Christian school, from Kindergarten through 12th grade. It’s the same school my husband and I attended from Kindergarten through 12th grade and graduated from, just like Clayton’s sister, his aunts, uncles, and cousins. It’s part of who we are. DEA is like our family.”

“… We talked about it as a family and we wholeheartedly believed in the environment at DEA and what it was building in him. We believed that if Clayton worked hard, stayed humble, and trusted God’s timing, the right doors would open.

There wasn’t much buzz around Hood as a prospect for the majority of the process. He was working hard and making the most of his opportunities in the small, unconventional league. Hood got bigger, strong, and faster as a result of his commitment to the sport he loves. Exposure was missing and everyone knew it.

Then Hood got an opportunity to attend MVP Camp. He showed up and made a name for himself. He posted strong numbers, ones that are shared with college programs and reviewed. But the competition also brought the best out in him.

Hood was able to use the camp to show what he could do against guys who performed at a high level in the much-more-popular 11-man GHSA leagues. Wake Forest, Elon, and Georgia Tech took notice.

Hood even took a trip to West Point as a potential Army target. All the while Georgia was also involved and stayed in contact. In fact, it only took a few days after that camp for the Bulldogs to get in contact. It made a run at the multi-sport athlete. UGA’s interest remained steady in hopes of getting things to turn out exactly like they did.

“It wasn’t even a week after that camp in 2024 that UGA started communicating with him, and everything started falling into place,” Allison Hood said. “…It’s been over a year now of steady communication, and to see it all lead to him playing football at Georgia, it’s emotional. Watching his hard work, LOTS OF PATIENCE, and faith come full circle has been one of the greatest joys of my life.”

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