Jeremy Clark
Name: Jeremy Clark
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 206 lbs.
High school: Madisonville (KY) North Hopkins
Position: Cornerback
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #34
Last year: I ranked Clark #47 and said he would be a backup strong safety (LINK). He started seven games at cornerback, making 21 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 3 pass breakups.
Clark was perhaps the biggest surprise on defense during the 2015 season. He didn’t play a great deal prior to last year, and he was thought to be a strong safety or perhaps a guy who could bulk up into an outside linebacker. Instead, he battled Channing Stribling for the starting boundary corner gig. Things were pretty even throughout the year, with Clark starting seven games and Stribling starting six. Clark was victimized by a couple excellent plays from offensive players, but mostly he was very solid. His large wingspan allowed him to blanket receivers who might have been open against smaller guys.
I thought Clark outplayed Stribling in 2015, but the Stribling hype train started once again this spring. Multiple reports said that Stribling had a great spring and sometimes looked like the best player on the whole defense. Meanwhile, defensive backs coach Mike Zordich said publicly that Clark is more physical and Stribling needs to get more involved in stopping the run. He also said that all three guys would play in certain packages. I’m giving the edge to Stribling in the countdown based on spring practice reports, but I don’t think Clark is far behind. He’s physical, covers well, and tackles well. I wasn’t a believer in his abilities as a corner prior to last season, but he has turned into a solid player.
Prediction: Backup cornerback
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In regard to the Stribling vs Clark battle – Clark only began starting after Stribling got hurt. I don’t think he gave the job back though, at least through Ohio State. Mostly irrelevant who starts since they pretty much split snaps, but useful context.
I did feel like Clark could be exploited by quicker WRs. Indiana targeted him again and again (at least 4 plays in a row in the 2nd Q), forcing the coaching staff to pull him off the field. But Stribling made mistakes too and so he and Clark continued to rotate. I agree with the write-up, Clark was one of the biggest surprises last year and is a solid player. I think he’ll get NFL attention after the season.
With Brown emphasizing CB support in the run game, you would think that might favor Clark. Then again Stribling seems like the more natural player in coverage. I don’t know how the Stribling/Clark situation will sort itself out but I expect them both to play a lot snaps. The Florida game was insightful because it showed us that the secondary can play really well with Stribling/Lewis/Clark all in the game. All of them will play frequently, so I think I’d have Clark a bit higher than this. The 3rd/4th corner (depending on if you include Peppers) is an important position because they tend to end up in high leverage situations.
The achilles heal of the otherwise excellent 2006 team was that they didn’t have much depth in the secondary. OSU passed all over them, exploiting that weakness, over and over. Luckily, this team doesn’t have that problem.
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