St. Charles East alum Clayton Isbell signs with Carolina Panthers as undrafted free agent

St. Charles East has a chance to have some representation at the NFL level once again.

Former Saints dual-threat Clayton Isbell signed a deal with the Carolina Panthers as a safety Saturday after going undrafted in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Isbell, who was both a quarterback and a safety for the Saints, is the first St. Charles East player to sign a contract with an NFL team since Gabe Nyenhuis, who signed with the Seattle Seahawks after going undrafted in 2004.

Dave Harbour was the last East alumni to play in an NFL game after finishing out the 1989 season with the Washington franchise now known as the Commanders.

Isbell declared for the Draft after spending his final college season with Coastal Carolina. In 2023, the Saints alum tallied 89 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, a sack against Old Dominion and three interceptions, which all came in the Chanticleers’ season opener at UCLA.

He started his college career at Illinois State and played for three seasons as a safety after redshirting in 2018. In his career as a Redbird, he had six total tackles, a forced fumble, three fumble recoveries and five interceptions, including a 40-yard pick-six against Northern Iowa in 2021.

He transferred to Utah in 2022, where he had 16 tackles for the Pac-12 champions before making the move to Coastal Carolina prior to the 2023 season.