Rookie Receiver Clayton Plays Big Role In Offense Katherine Smith, The Tampa Tribune, published 13 September 2004 Before his first preseason game, rookie receiver Michael Clayton had trouble sleeping and struggled to keep food down. In just a matter of weeks, Clayton has shown dramatic improvement. Before his first regular-season game, he slept fine and not once did he feel like throwing up. In Sunday's 16-10 loss to Washington, Clayton emerged as a starting wide receiver - partly because of an injury to starter Joey Galloway, but also because he earned it. ``I'm working my way up the ladder, taking some steps,'' said Clayton, the Bucs first- round and 15th overall draft pick. ``And with Galloway going down, I'm going to have to turn it up a notch.'' Clayton's confidence and comfort level grew as the game went on. He led the Bucs with seven receptions for 53 yards. Seventeen-year veteran Tim Brown was second with four receptions for 23 yards. Clayton was the target for the Bucs first pass of the game. On second-and-11 from their own 33-yard line, Brad Johnson connected with Clayton for 1 yard. Later in the second quarter, Clayton caught an 11-yard reception for a first down. He picked up another first down with his longest catch of the game, a 12-yard reception in the third quarter. ``It was exciting for me,'' Clayton said. ``I wasn't nervous or anything, just anxious. I had an opportunity early to catch a ball I should have caught. I had to calm down a little bit. Coach gave me a lot of opportunities to make some plays.'' Jon Gruden noticed some mistakes, but growing pains are to be expected with a rookie receiver. ``I thought all-in-all, there were some things that we can build on,'' Gruden said. ``I thought he caught the ball inside and looked like a physical runner after the catch. We're pleased with his beginning.'' Clayton's game-high seven receptions were two shy of the franchise rookie-game record set by James Wilder in 1981 against St. Louis. ``Mike did great in a first game for him to kind of see the difference between a preseason game and a regular-season game,'' Johnson said. ``For him to get some catches in the first game and to be a big part of our offense, that's what we expect out of him. He's going to play a big role, regardless of Galloway's [injury]. He got some catches, kind of got his feet wet in his first game. We expect a lot of things out of him.'' Clayton expects a lot from himself. In an offense that struggled with consistency Sunday, Clayton exhibited signs of good things to come. ``I'm calm now and I'm just looking forward to a great season,'' Clayton said. ``We did a lot of good things [Sunday]. There were a lot of things that need to be corrected that will be corrected, making us a better offense.''