Rutgers football training camp, 08-10-16

Rutgers linebacker Najee Clayton isn't with the team right now due to "personal reasons," according to coach Chris Ash.

(John Munson | NJ Advance Media)

PISCATAWAY -- Sophomore linebacker Najee Clayton, who was one of the first individual players to impress first-year coach Chris Ash during spring camp, has left the Rutgers football program and might not return.

Clayton, who made eight tackles playing in the first two games of the season on special teams and as Greg Jones' backup on the strong side, was not at Saturday's 37-28 victory against New Mexico after leaving the program Friday.

"Najee is not with us right now," Ash said. "He has stepped away for personal reasons right now and was not here with us today, and not sure what his status will be moving forward. But Najee Clayton is not with us right now."

Clayton, who played safety last season, entered training camp as a starter but was jumped by redshirt senior Greg Jones before the season-opener. He is still listed in the Rutgers University student directory.

"At the end of the day, (Jones) is my brother before he is anything else," Clayton told NJ Advance Media on Monday. "I support him when he's in there. He supports me when I'm in there. It definitely was a wake-up call, but at the end of the day we all go through hard things if we play football and this is one of them. I have to keep moving on."

A three-star recruit out of Paramus Catholic High School, Clayton played in the final six games of last season. He had Power Five scholarship offers from Boston College, Iowa, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Virginia, according to Rivals.com

"(I'm) getting better and better each week," Clayton said. "I'm new to the position and doing everything I can to get better every day."

To compensate for Clayton's absence, Rutgers moved safety Ronnie James, who made his season debut against New Mexico after missing all of training camp with a groin injury, to linebacker. James played cornerback last season.

With free safety Saquan Hampton and nickel cornerback Ross Douglas sidelined against New Mexico, K.J. Gray made his first career interception.

At one point, Gray and fellow true freshmen Dacoven Bailey -- a temporarily converted wide receiver -- and Damon Hayes were on the field together in the secondary.

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Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.