Coming off the best single-season punting performance in school history with a 43.4 yard average, Claybourn has positioned himself as one of the nation's leading kickers. He finished his career second all-time at Western Kentucky with 9,237 yards, 226 punts and an average of 40.87 yards per kick. The WKU team captain helped lead the team to a I-AA national championship in 2003 and an 11th ranking in the 2004 final national polls.

At 6-1 and 185 pounds, Claybourn is the total athlete not usually found in punters. With jaw-dropping distance and hang time, combined with a gritty work ethic and smart mind, Claybourn's combination of talents makes him one the best punters in recent memory. He's the complete package, both physically and mentally.

In 2004 Claybourn posted a 43.4 yard average, the best single-season performance in Western Kentucky history. The team captain averaged 48.2 yards per punt and had all five kickoffs downed for touchbacks in WKU's win over Illinois State, earning him the title of ESPN/USA Today I-AA Special Teams Player of the Week. He earned First-team Gateway All-Conference honors for the second year, as well as Second-team All-Academic Team honors for the second year in row. Prior to the season Football Gazette placed him on the I-AA Pre-season All-America team. Claybourn finished the year with the school season record for punting average while ranking fourth nationally in the category. He was named third-team All-America by both The Sports Network and AP. He finished his career ranked second on the WKU history books in punts, total yards and punting average.

Claybourn's amazing performance in 2003 earned him first-team all-Gateway Football Conference honors after averaging 41.2 yards per punt. In his third year he ranked 19th in the nation, and his efforts helped WKU stand 21st in the country in net punting. His 41.2 yard average was the third highest season in Western Kentucky history. Claybourn had 18 of 54 kicks (33.3 percent) downed inside the 20-yard line. He averaged better than 41 yards per punt in eight of 10 regular-season games (he was not needed in the West Virginia Tech victory). In 2003 Claybourn posted an average of 48.2 yards per kick, with three of six downed inside the 20, including against nationally ranked Eastern Kentucky. He recorded an average of 45.4 yards per punt at I-A Auburn and averaged 45.2 yards per effort against third-ranked Southern Illinois. Claybourn was also named the GFC Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 49.3 yards per punt at No. 2 Western Illinois. He ended the regular season by posting an average of 45 yards per kick at Youngstown State.

In only his second season at Western Claybourn was selected honorable mention all-Gateway Conference. He ranked third in the league and 28th in the country with an average of 39.6 yards per kick, finishing 10th on the WKU season record list. Nineteen of his 67 punts were downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line. His average of 49.6 yards per kick in the season opener at Kansas State was the second-highest game average in school history. He posted 46.8 yards-per-punt average in WKU's win at nationally ranked Northern Iowa. He also had a 45.3 yard average on seven kicks in their win over No. 25 Illinois State.

In his first season of play for Western Kentucky Claybourn was named second-team all-Gateway Conference and was named to the league's All-Newcomer Team after averaging a WKU freshman-record of 40.07 yards per kick. He led all freshmen punters in I-AA, finishing 19th in average. Claybourn posted the highest average per kick for a WKU punter since Todd Davis (40.29) in 1990. Nineteen of 59 (32.2 percent) kicks were downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line. He posted the longest kick in the conference with a 73-yard effort at Indiana State, and also set a Paladin Stadium record with a 71-yard boot in the NCAA playoffs at Furman. Claybourn averaged better than 40 yards per punt four times in a five-game stretch from Sept. 29-Oct. 27. He recorded an average of 42.0 yards per punt on 10 kicks at I-A Wisconsin, with three kicks of 50 yards or more. He posted a season-best 43.3 average in Elon win.

Claybourn was redshirted the 2000 season.

Claybourn lettered his final three seasons at Reitz High School in Evansville, Indiana. He was named all-state, all-area, all-metro, all-conference and all-city as a punter his senior year, averaging 37 yards per kick with nine downed inside the 10-yard line. He made 8-of-10 field goals and was 27-of-31 on extra-point attempts. His team finished 9-3 and was the 5A Sectional champion. Claybourn was voted all-metro and all-conference punter his junior season after averaging 37 yards per boot with a long kick of 59 yards. He was the Reitz Panthers' Special Teams Player of the Year his last two seasons and earned an all-city and all-league selection as a punter his first season with the varsity. He earned four letters in soccer, earning second-team all-state honors his last year. Claybourn was a fourth-team all-state selection in basketball as a senior, leading Reitz to the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference Tournament crown. He lettered three years on the court.