Coming out of Capital Christian High School in Sacramento, California, Clark had roughly 15 scholarship offers, most of which were outside the Power Five. Instead of accepting one of them, he chose a different path.
Clark joined UCLA as a walk-on, trusting that his ability would eventually speak for itself.
“I’m from a smaller city in Sacramento. Not a lot of looks out there,” Clark said. “And I had around 15 offers coming out of high school, but I passed up all of those to walk on to UCLA. So I just wanted to bet on myself and prove what I can do on the field.”
The decision to walk on at UCLA didn’t come easy. The three-star defensive back turned down an offer from Washington State, a program he had previously visited and a member of the Pac-12.
“I talked to my family about it. We prayed about it overnight and they told me, you know, whatever you want to do, we’ll be there supporting you and be right there behind you,” Clark said. “So I woke up the next morning and decided I just wanted to walk on and show that I could play at a high level.”
It didn’t take long for Clark to prove himself, earning a scholarship after his freshman season. He played in five games, primarily on special teams, while logging 44 defensive snaps across two games.
“I just showed my work ethic every day,” Clark said. “Being a leader on it off the field, showing them my abilities on the field and I just put my head down and continue to work.”
After his redshirt sophomore season, in which he appeared in nine games, including two starts, Clark entered the transfer portal and committed to Florida.
“Definitely coming to the SEC,” Clark said on the decision. “That’s everybody’s dream as a child. So that’s what I wanted to do and it was a new opportunity for me to show my ability at the highest level.”
Now at Florida for his redshirt junior season, Clark finds himself in another competitive environment, but the mentality that carried him from walk-on to scholarship player at UCLA remains the same.
“I feel like I always have to prove myself being a walk-on. I always remember that,” Clark said. “And coming from the West Coast to the SEC, I always feel like I have to prove myself.”
In his first semester in Gainesville, Clark immediately caught the attention of head coach Jon Sumrall, who praised his athleticism and competitiveness during winter workouts.
At 5’10, 186 pounds, Clark isn’t the biggest defensive back on the roster. But rather than view his size as a limitation, he has turned it into motivation.
“Just always being seen as a smaller guy kind of fuels me on the field,” Clark said. “So I like to go hit people and show them that size doesn’t matter.”
That physicality makes him a strong fit for the STAR position, a role that requires the versatility to defend the run and pass while also blitzing the quarterback.
“That’s where I’ve been working at. I like that it shows my versatility as a player, being able to guard people one on one in the slot, and also being able to show up in the box and blitz off the edge,” Clark said. “I like that I’m able to do that and have a lot of visual on quarterbacks and make plays. Really show my versatility.”
Throughout Rusty Whitt’s offseason strength and conditioning program, Clark was repeatedly mentioned as a top performer. Whitt highlighted Clark, Vernell Brown III, Bailey Stockton and Jayden Woods among the players who had some of the best “Gauntlet” matchups.
“It was just another opportunity for me to show my work ethic and show what I can do in the weight room to transfer that onto the field,” Clark said.
Clark added seven pounds over the offseason while making significant improvements in the weight room.
“I was able to power clean 315. I was able to deadlift 525. I was able to single leg squat 405. Bench press 315. So a lot of improvement. Real big jumps.”
The defensive back room could be the unit with the most competition on the roster. At STAR in particular, a number of players are expected to compete for snaps, including both cornerbacks and safeties. Clark views the competition as another opportunity to grow.
“We have a lot of competition in the DB room. A lot of older guys and guys that are all pushing each other. Even the younger guys are pushing us too to stay on top of all of our things. So competitions have been going good and it’s good to learn off of each other.”
Clark enters the SEC with the same mentality that got him here in the first place: bet on himself, put his head down and work.