Raiders Take Delivery of Round Mound of Clay : They’re Unworried That No. 1 Draft Choice Is at Least as Big as Advertised

The Raiders opened their rookie camp Thursday and proved that their No. 1 draft pick, big John Clay of Missouri, is everything they said he was.

And more.

We’re talking 300 pounds of Clay, plus a few.

The weekend before the draft, the Raiders sent a scout to his St. Louis home to weigh him one last time and caught him at 319. The two then went to lunch. Clay said he had the smoked fish.

Thursday, he reportedly arrived at 321. In other words, he’s still headed in the wrong direction. His diet sounds like Tom Lasorda’s seafood diet: “I see food and I eat it.”

Said Coach Tom Flores: “We talked about it. There’s no question (Clay’s) weight has to come down. He has made the commitment to do what it takes and we’re going to help him.”

If the Raiders don’t seem unduly unhappy, they aren’t. Had Clay stayed at his fighting trim of 285, he would probably have been taken well ahead of their 15th pick. If he graded out badly in postseason workouts, they thought he played well in his only postseason all-star competition,544499813huge linemen, which has taught them to be patient with large men.

Traditionalists to the core, they even gave him the No. 78, once worn by assistant coach Art Shell, a monster himself in his playing days, and now a Hall of Fame candidate.

“Art was a rookie in ‘68,” Flores said. “Art was a lot smaller. He was about 280 when he was a rookie and got down to 265 his second year. Then he got a little bigger.

“Nobody ever knew (how much bigger). Nobody cared.

“Art had good, soft, smooth feet. For such a big guy, that’s rare. There are some comparisons. Some people think John looks similar to Art Shell.”

Clay says he was a Shell fan too, rooting for the Raiders despite growing up half a continent away.

“This is where I wanted to be all along,” he said. “It cost me some bucks (first projections had him going in the top eight) but I’m very happy to be here.

“Weight was a major issue to a lot of people but I never felt it was a problem. I tend to get heavy in the off-season. When it’s time to get to camp, I have no problem reporting at the correct weight.

“I’ve got a lot to prove but I’ve never been a lazy guy throughout my career. My coaches at the university could vouch for that. But since I was overweight, I guess people have a reason to believe that.”

Missouri Coach Woody Widenhofer, a former Pittsburgh Steeler assistant, has compared Clay’s athletic ability favorably to the fabled Pitt lineman, Bill Fralic, now with the Atlanta Falcons.

Widenhofer also said Clay never had a weight problem at Missouri and suggested that perhaps he let himself go because he knew the Raiders were interested, regardless. Widenhofer noted that Clay missed workout appointments on campus with other NFL teams.

Clay said the part about the workouts is true, but coincidental.

“Washington and Atlanta, it was just a mix-up in times,” he said.

Thursday, Clay participated in his first Raider practice. In response to a rising tide of weight questions, he said he could feel it.

“Especially with the guys out here,” he said. “They’re a lot quicker. When I get down to my playing weight, 285, I can be just as quick.”

Clay plans to stay here right through the opening of training camp in July. The Raider medical staff is drafting a diet.

Raider Notes The Raiders, wary of losing their only tested backup to Marcus Allen, Ens. Napoleon McCallum, have signed free agent Ethan Horton. Horton was the first running back selected in the 1985 draft, by the Kansas City Chiefs, who waived him in 1986. Horton was widely considered to be the second coming of Kelvin Bryant when he left the University of North Carolina. He was tried out by 10 other teams last season, including the Raiders, but wasn’t signed by any of them. . . . . John Clay, a right tackle in college, is being tried first at left tackle, a position that now belongs to veteran Bruce Davis. The left side is considered harder, since the tight end usually lines up on the other side and can help block. The left tackle is out there by himself and must be nimbler. By the way, Art Shell played the left side. . . . Can Clay make the starting lineup? “It’s a lot to expect,” Coach Tom Flores said. “No rookie lineman has been in the opening-day lineup since Gene Upshaw, and that goes back to 1967. Curt Marsh was a starter as a rookie at midseason. We haven’t had to start linemen as rookies.” Translation: The opportunity is there, even if midseason is more likely than the opener. The Raiders allowed 64 sacks last season, which would have set an NFL record if the Eagles hadn’t allowed 104. The Raiders have replaced 35-year-old Henry Lawrence with 35-year-old Shelby Jordan. Davis will soon be 31 and has a history of knee trouble.