He played college football for the University of Iowa, and earned consensus All-American honors.

[1][2] Because his head and neck were pulled to the side as his shoulders passed through the birth canal, he suffered nerve damage resulting in the loss of some movement and weakness in his right arm.

[3] Clayborn underwent physical therapy throughout his young life and eventually overcame the limitations caused by the disability.

[12] In a dominant effort against Georgia Tech, Clayborn was named Orange Bowl MVP.

[14] ESPN, Playboy Magazine, Sporting News, College Football Insiders, Lindy's, and Phil Steele all selected Clayborn for their pre-season first-team All-American lists.

[16] While preparing for the 2010 Insight Bowl, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz announced that Clayborn was one of three Hawkeyes invited to attend the Senior Bowl, college football's pre-draft event featuring seniors with NFL prospects.

His sack on Matt Ryan also caused a fumble recovered by teammate Michael Bennett.

[38] In the 2013 season, Clayborn had 5.5 sacks, 64 total tackles, one pass defended, and two forced fumbles.

[39] Before the 2014 season, it was announced by new general manager Jason Licht that the Buccaneers would not be picking up the fifth year option on his rookie contract.

[48] Without Clayborn, the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI where they lost 34–28 in overtime to the New England Patriots.

[61] Clayborn played in 15 games with one start, recording 18 tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles.