Clabo attended Farragut High SchoolinFarragut, Tennessee and lettered in football and basketball.[3] In football, he was a two-time All-Conference selection, and as a senior, he was also named as an All-Region selection, an All-east Tennessee selection, and as an All-State selection.
Clabo played football at Wake Forest.[4] Clabo started all 11 games at left tackle as a sophomore, and he was the only underclassman to start every contest that year. Clabo started all 13 games as a junior and moved to left guard after playing tackle in 2001, helping the Deacon ground game lead the ACC in rushing for the second-straight year. He started the final 36 games of his college career and a total of 37 contests of 47 games played at Wake Forest. Clabo earned first-team All-Atlantic Conference honors as a senior. In 2018 he was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.[5]
Clabo eventually was signed to the Falcons practice squad in September 2005 and re-signed by the Falcons team in January 2006.[10]
Clabo started all 16 games and was a 2010 Pro Bowl selection.[11][12]
On July 29, 2011, Clabo signed a five-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons.[13] He started in all 16 games in the 2011 season.[14]
In 2012, Clabo started every regular season game at right tackle for the fifth consecutive year including the two playoff games against Seattle and San Francisco.[15] At the end of the season, Clabo received two all-pro votes for his play.[16]
On April 4, 2013, Clabo was released by the Falcons.[17] Clabo ended his career with the Falcons after 7 years and 101 starts, currently putting him 58th in franchise history.[18] Between 2008 and 2012, Clabo started every single game and anchored an offensive line for 4 playoff teams. In July 2020, Clabo was named to the Atlanta Falcons all-decade team alongside longtime left tackle Jake Matthews.[1]
On July 23, 2014, Clabo signed with the Houston Texans.[21] He appeared in all 16 games for the Texans in the 2014 season. A majority of his offensive line snaps came in Week 16 against the Baltimore Ravens.[22]
