Following in the footsteps of your father’s profession can be both “a blessing and a curse.” At least this is the point of view incoming ASU freshman defensive back Jordan Clark, son of 13-year NFL veteran; Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark. The Sun Devil newcomer discusses the impact of that legacy and how it has shaped him as a player and a person, and what level of expectations does it create for himself in his inaugural season of college football.
“First time I played football was probably when I was in kindergarten, just playing with my cousins in the backyard. I was playing it seriously in first grade, also going out there playing some tackle football, doing Oklahoma’s (drills) and a bunch of stuff little kids probably shouldn’t be doing but having a really fun time doing it though.
“That’s probably my first football memory but I’ve been around the game my whole life with my dad playing and I have some pretty fond memories with that as well. My dad didn’t really push me to play football, I started off playing soccer and that was my first love, and a sport I played for the longest time. Playing soccer especially helped me learn my body and definitely got me moving quickly with my feet. It also helped me control myself, be able to stop whenever I want from any position I want to, and that’s where I think playing soccer benefited me the most.
“But when I got to middle school and I saw the market for football and the market for soccer in the U.S. I made that decision to play football for myself. It was a game that I loved as much as soccer. My dad told me that if I was going to do it, then I need to do it the right way. So he didn’t push me to play football but I was going to do it his way, and it’s just been there ever since.
“Watching the way my dad worked on his game helped me develop as a player and taught me a lot. During the offseason, I was there when he was pushing sleds, lifting weights, eating with proper nutrition…I saw all the time that he put into it, and how he really he exemplified what it means to be a hard worker, not just playing football but in doing anything in life. That was something that really meant a lot to me.
“I remember being at the team walk-throughs and practices. I used to wake up super early sometimes on Fridays and I’d get to go to school a little late so I could get to go to walk-throughs with my dad, breaking the opponent down…those things are things that definitely stick with me. And then the Super Bowl win obviously, and also the Super Bowl loss, but more so the Super Bowl loss, that hurt really bad. Those two Super Bowl definitely are games that stick out a lot in my memory.
“I’ve never really got an outside perspective on the game and I was never looking for it. I’ve always trusted my dad 100 percent with everything that I’ve been doing. He knows the game really well and is somebody that I just I trust with everything I do. I know he only wants the best for me, so I’ve stuck with him and listened to everything he had to say.
“Being the son of a former NFL player has been a blessing and a curse for sure. Whatever accolades I would get whatever rewards I’ve received, people would ‘blame’ it on the fact that my dad is who he is. Most of the time, people didn’t say that I got an award because of how hard I worked or because I’m good, but it’s because of my dad. So, from that aspect it sucks a little bit being the son of a former (NFL) player.
“But from the other side of it, you’ve got somebody who can teach you the game, and who can take your game to a new level. He can teach you things that no other high school kid knows. So, I love it, I wouldn’t really have it any other way. The experiences I’ve had, not many kids have really had them. So, it hasn’t really been difficult.
“My dad never instilled in me that I’m entitled to anything because I’m his son. He taught me to work hard and he gave me the skills to train and be a good player. At the same time, I want to make a name for myself; be Jordan Clark, not Ryan Clark’s son.
“The biggest lessons my dad taught me that will stick with me throughout my career are attitude, consistency and hard work. With anything you want to accomplish in life, you need to have consistently to accomplish it. You need to have to focus on areas that you’re not good at and don’t only focus on what you’re good at. You always need to find ways to improve because the game’s going to keep progressing with or without you. But if you keep improving, keep working everything will fall into place how it’s supposed to be.
“Going into my sophomore year I knew that I was good enough to get a college (football) scholarship. I went to a couple of camps, got some reps with players that were older than me and supposed to be good. Sometimes I got my ass kicked, but most of the time I caught up to those older players and I held my own. So I knew from then on that I was going to be alright if I kept working on my game.
“The first time ASU contacted me was during my junior year and that was by (former running backs coach) coach John Simon. He and my dad played together in the NFL when my dad was at Washington so they knew each other pretty well. I grew up in Pittsburgh, I went to high school in Louisiana, so I didn’t know really too much about Arizona State. So, he really wanted to get me on campus and show me what the program was all about. He spoke about the opportunities I could have going there and the different things he saw that I could do in the program. All the things he said definitely stuck out to me and made them one of my top schools.
“What I remember from my first visit was the stadium being between two mountains. That was super cool to me for some reason. The Pat Tillman statue, and what that stood for was something that was super cool to me because not a lot of schools have something like that. When I was there, ASU had just beat Washington and the players and the school were really buzzing. I really liked how the city rallied around them because the players and the coaches were talking about how if you win and do what you’re supposed to do, then the fans will come and the city will rally behind you. Seeing all that on my visit, I knew that ASU was a place that I could see myself at.
“Even though I was recruited under coach Graham the coaching staff change didn’t really affect me to be honest with you, because when I committed there it was for the school, not necessarily for the coach. I know coaches leave schools all the time. Coach Simon recruited me there and I love him to death but he left, I wasn’t worried about being committed to ASU. If I signed with ASU because I was banking on him being there for my whole college career that would’ve been silly on my part. It’s a business, and he has to do what’s best for him and his family.
“I love coach Herm, my family loves coach Herm, and he’s a good man. He’s a man my father has been around and him being the head coach there is a plus. Because he and my dad worked together, I had talked to him two, three times before he was the head coach at ASU. It’s really awesome because he’s a great teacher. He’s done what I want to do (play defensive back in the NFL) at the highest level so him being there is a plus for sure.
“I had already known coach Herm was a good man. Sometimes when you get to know a program, and you meet the coaches you don’t really know if the person you’re talking during recruiting is going to be the same person who will coach you after you sign. You don’t know if he’s going to be consistent or if this is just him recruiting you and acting a certain way.
“But coach Herm he’s the exact same guy every day, so I know what I’m going to get when I walk in the building. I know that he’s been genuine whenever my family and I were talking to him and he wasn’t just feeding us what we wanted to hear. He’s someone I’m ok with yelling at me for the next couple of years.
“After coach Simon left, (linebackers coach) Antonio Pierce took over my recruitment. He’s like my uncle, and I knew him from way, way before. He was already kind of helping me throughout the recruiting process anyways, so after he was hired he somewhat just picked it up where from where it was before, and it was as if he never missed a beat. Talking to him was basically like talking to a player, to be honest with you; he’s just one of the guys. He’s a person that you can go to and talk to about whatever, whether that be school, football, whatever social problem you’re having - he’s somebody you can go to, and you know he will be real with you. He’s going to give it to you straight and you can definitely appreciate that being a college athlete. He knows what it’s like to be a college athlete, he knows what it’s like to be a pro, and he knows what it takes to b successful on both levels. He’s going to shoot with you straight, and the guys love it, I love it.
“My dad was super hands off with my recruiting, and never told me that I should go to ASU because I knew coach Herm and coach Pierce. He wanted me to make the decision for myself because at the end of the day it falls all on me. When I get to school and I happen not to like it, that falls on me because that’s my decision. He didn’t want to be the one to make the decision and if it doesn’t go well for it be his fault. He wanted me to see what I like in a school, see what I didn’t like and make the decision myself.
“I spent a lot of my summers in Scottsdale growing up, that’s where my dad trained at. So I know the ASU area fairly well. I have somewhere to train if I’m out there, it’s a program where I know I can go and I can make an impact early. So going to ASU was never just about the coaching staff, and the change there didn’t really make things any different for me. I was open-minded and set on ASU being one of my top schools prior and post-coaching change.
“Even though I grew up in an NFL environment and I’m already used to being around people who have been in the league, I’m super excited about the NFL vibe at ASU. It’s a really professional environment in the building shared by a lot of great football minds and a lot of people who have done what you’re trying to do. Having those guys in the building definitely brings a sense of professionalism, and it brings a sense of ‘get your job done.’ It’s perfect for me. It’s going to help us a lot, it’s going to help us win, and I think it’ll help develop all of us as men as well.
“While making my decision, a big thing I was trying to do was to go to a system that would fit me the best, since I’m a bit of a smaller corner. When you see the 3-3-5 and you look at Arizona State’s roster you see guys like Kobe Williams, who is my size starting, I knew that size wasn’t going to be a problem when I got there. You see how many DB’s they got on the field at one time, right? I know I’m going to play so I love it. I went to the Michigan State game and our defense…that was the best game you could’ve really went to see this year, man. I loved it; I saw myself in that game and fitting the system.
“I’m setting super-duper high goals from myself, that’s just how I am. I want to be freshman All-Pac-12 and I want to make a big impact on the team. I want to have five-plus interceptions. When I’m setting my goals super high, it’s definitely going to mean a lot to me that I reach them. I feel when I work hard enough, and do what I’m supposed to do; I should meet the goals that I set for myself.
“You have one starting corner who is a senior and another who is a junior who could go to the NFL early, so the depth chart at ASU is very appealing. And you know this coaching staff
is all competition. Coach Herm is all about ‘words and action’
They don’t care if you’re younger or older; the best players are going to play. If you go out there and you work and do what you’re supposed to do, you’re going to get on the field.”
Chris Gleason contributed to this article
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