Years after now-cleared bullying lawsuit, Clay Webb looks to make impact on Broncos’ roster
On Saturday afternoon Clay Webb stood in front of a new cubby inside the Broncos locker room hoping that the beginning of a dream could prompt the world to move on alongside him I wish everyone respect going forward from this Webb reflected to The Denver Post I hope that one thing isn t what people judge me by That one thing bizarre as it was was enough to displace the career of a high school contestant once ranked higher than Bo Nix In the -foot- -pound Webb was a five-star offensive lineman and one of the best prospects in the Class of Talented enough to spawn a last-ditch Southern turf war between Alabama s Nick Saban and Georgia s Kirby Smart both visiting Oxford High to try to land him on the day of his collegiate signing as disclosed by Al com The Dawgs got him And then they stashed him amid a lack of reps and a federal bullying lawsuit from December that named Webb as a key defendant after a former Oxford High Alabama classmate unwittingly drank Webb s semen from a Gatorade bottle Six years later after a winding road in football had brought him to three standout seasons at Jacksonville State Webb s agent sent all NFL teams a legal brief in the lead-up to April s draft One word in the body of a two-page decision from a judge in Alabama s Calhoun County was capitalized and bolded The Court finds that summary judgment is due to be GRANTED for Defendant Webb Still after being widely projected as a Day talent in the NFL draft Webb fell undrafted in April The Broncos speedily snapped him up as a preferred free agent eventually inking him on a three-year deal worth a total of million according to Spotrac The decision was based on two key factors The Calhoun County decision not finding Webb liable of any charges and extensive pre-draft work from the Broncos brass into Webb s character We spent a ton of time with him Payton revealed when inquired about Webb s signing at Saturday s rookie minicamp He s the best Obviously he made a mistake And he was fantastic just in discussing it with us and going through it with us And we feel really good with where he s at On Oct Cole Hapach a former baseball sportsman at Oxford walked into the baseball squad s locker room and noticed a Powerade bottle on top of a teammate s locker Hapach appealed the room whose drink it was as alleged in the original complaint and recounted by Hapach in a conversation with The Post A teammate stated him he could have it He drank it The room began guffawing and a teammate communicated him that Webb had ejaculated in the bottle Hapach recalled This is just a horrible situation Hapach reported I wouldn t pray it on my worst enemy what I ve been through with this Hapach informed The Post he was the target of constant homophobic slurs at Oxford after the development and students tossed a Gatorade bottle at his house on at least one occasion He transferred schools to private Coosa Valley Academy about an hour away in Harpersville Alabama and he and his father still believe Webb s actions were responsible Somebody requirements to pay for what happened Hapach described The Post I mean you just don t go around doing that to other people The key to this incident however Webb did not specifically target Hapach or have any intention of doing so a fact agreed upon by all parties Webb had brought the bottle to school and declared that fact to Oxford s football club a source with knowledge of the situation narrated The Post At certain point Hapach disclosed a teammate had taken the bottle from the football locker room to the baseball locker room The Calhoun County judge ruled in favor of Webb because as Hapach s lawyer Artrip himself commented there was no credible evidence to tie any subsequent bullying specifically to Webb And there was no criminal action taken by law enforcement throughout the process Artrip declared for the same reason Related Articles Broncos Sean Payton says ILB Dre Greenlaw quad will be a full participant in training camp Broncos cut punter Matt Haack LS Zach Triner to trim roster to Longtime agent Jeff Sperbeck s fatal fall from golf cart driven by John Elway ruled an accident Broncos bringing QB Ian Book a former Sean Payton draft pick in as vet tryout performer for rookie minicamp Broncos minicamp preview Austin Ekeler s brother Wyett Eaton native looks for fairytale story As of now the development isn t perfectly closed as the Hapachs and Artrip intend to appeal the scenario to the Alabama Supreme Court The Broncos organization though has little concern over Webb s character as Payton referenced Both the head coach and general manager George Paton sat with Webb to inquire about details of the matter in the pre-draft process a source recounted The Post Denver hosted Webb on a top- visit and met with him at a number of other events Webb was truthful with the organization he announced Saturday And six years later Webb will have a legitimate shot to crack Denver s roster as high-upside young depth on a veteran offensive line I hope everyone can look past that Webb commented of the lawsuit and just kinda like on my career Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis
