The 2024 Super Bowl weekend will be a hard one to top for 17-year-old Josie Clayton. The Virginia native was recognized as the NFL Girls' Flag Player of the Year.
"It's just really amazing," Clayton said of winning the award. "For me, as a kid, I really never thought of any kind of football being a place for women, and I didn't really know flag football, especially at this high of a level, existed until middle school. Just being a small part of pushing forward the game and hopefully helping to inspire younger girls to play is really cool."
Clayton, who is a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, was treated to an all-expenses paid trip to New Orleans with her family. Clayton has been an integral piece for local powerhouse the Virginia Hurricanes, playing as both a safety and a wide receiver. And while her athletic prowess is unique, who she is as a person makes her stand out even more.
It didn't take long for Hurricanes head coach Mike Rivera to notice that Clayton was special. Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, Clayton was on a flag team that played against the Hurricanes. Clayton caught his eye, and he ended up recruiting her. Rivera knew he was bringing on a very talented flag player to his squad, but he'd soon learn everything else that made her tick.
"She's a unicorn. She's the full package," Rivera said. "She is the nicest, kind of most modest kid you'll ever meet. You wouldn't know she scored three touchdowns and had three picks in a game. She'll kind of just walk off the field, and that'll be it."
Clayton is an embodiment of the all-around excellence that the NFL looks to honor with this award. She maintains a 4.3 GPA at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology -- one of the most rigorous high schools in the country. In addition to her flag pursuits, she's a four-year letter winner for TJHSST's basketball team and plays both club and high school soccer.
That schedule would be busy enough for most high schoolers, but Clayton also finds time to volunteer for the Virginia Hurricanes younger teams.
"Coaching the younger teams is really important to me not only because I get to help inspire young girls to continue playing this game I love so much," Clayton said. "It helps me feel that I'm pushing forward this sport and showing these girls that they can do anything, that they can be powerful in this sport and play football and be successful."
It's that kind of mentality that made Rivera feel like Clayton would be the ideal selection for the recently established NFL Flag Player of the Year award.
"It's easy to pick the best flag player because, say, she got 50 touchdowns, but it's like, 'Ok what is this [flag movement] all about?' This is all about inspiring the next generation, having role models. She's the kind of kid you should recognize for that," Rivera said.
In the next few months, Clayton will finish her senior year by representing the Commanders with the Virginia Hurricanes at nationals in Canton, Ohio. Although a growing number of colleges are adding girls' flag football as a sport in different capacities, Carnegie Mellon, where Clayton is headed in the fall, is not yet on that list. The 2024 NFL Player of the Year is looking to change that.
"One of my teammates is also coming to Carnegie Mellon with me, so we and Haley [Adams, girls flag coach in Pittsburgh] talked about setting that up as an intramural thing with other schools in the area," Clayton said.
In the DMV, Pittsburgh and perhaps even in LA at the 2028 Olympics, Clayton has her focus set on leaving this sport in a better place than she found it.
