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Ursuline’s Daryll Clark leader on field, in classroom
Ursuline’s Daryll Clark has become a leader on the football field and a dedicated student in the classroom
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
When Daryll Clark was a freshman quarterback at Ursuline in 2000, the Irish had a state championship roster with a Division I recruit under center named Josh Swogger.
Consequently, Irish assistant Art Carter wasn’t about to make Clark feel special.
“It was very much tough love,” Carter said. “I never gave him a break, never let him believe he was a pretty good player.
“And the thing I liked about him was, no matter how much I rode him, he always showed up wanting more.”
The next fall, Clark earned the starting job. A year later, he led the Irish to the Division IV state semifinals. By his senior year, he was talented enough on the field to get Big Ten offers.
Off the field was a different story. Clark had fallen behind with his classwork and was forced to spend a year at Kiski Prep before heading to Penn State.
“That was probably one of the best things that ever happened in his life,” said Carter. “He told me, ‘I promise you, I’ll never let this happen again.’
“I was like, What do you mean? And he said, ‘I’m embarrassed to face you, I’m embarrassed to face my family and I’m embarrassed to face the people at Ursuline.’”
At Kiski, Clark was surrounded by academic geniuses who cared little about athletics. It opened his world, Carter said, and made him realize there was more to life than football.
He didn’t let that opportunity go to waste.
“Some people don’t get it,” Carter said. “They get that smack in the face and it doesn’t mean anything.
“He took it personally. That’s the thing. He thought he hurt us.”
Four years later, Clark is in a much different situation.
Fresh off a record-setting career for the Nittany Lions, the two-time All-Big Ten quarterback is hoping to be selected in this weekend’s NFL draft.
“I’m just hoping for the best,” Clark said. “I’ve been surrounded by a great group of guys and I’ve tried to do everything I could, as far as taking care of things on the field and graduating and everything.
“Now it’s up to the decision-makers.”
For all his success at Penn State — he holds single-season records for passing yards and TD passes and the career record for TD passes — it hasn’t been an easy road. After a year at Kiski, Clark redshirted one season, then spent two years backing up inconsistent QB Anthony Morelli.
But instead of sulking, he put the team first, Carter said.
“I’d call him after games and say, ‘Can you believe you’re sitting behind this guy?’” said Carter, a letterman on YSU’s back-to-back national championship teams in 1993-94. “And he’d say, ‘Art, he didn’t play that bad of a game.’
“And I’d say, ‘Are you out of your mind?’ But that’s Daryll Clark. He never said anything bad about the guy.”
In the meantime, Clark bulked up in the weight room — he was the top performer among quarterbacks in the bench press at February’s NFL combine — and took advantage of his opportunities. Clark played in eight games as a sophomore, mainly as a running option, before earning the full-time job as a junior. Although he was always a pass-first quarterback, he never fully shook the running quarterback label.
“When I got to Penn State, [quarterbacks coach] Jay Paterno told me to stay in the pocket, make the throws and run when I have to,” Clark said. “Then I got to play in the Alamo Bowl [as a freshman] and ran the football and nobody saw me throw it, so they said, ‘OK, this guy’s just a runner.’
“When I got the opportunity to start, I really feel like I showed I could pass the ball and I just got better and better.”
Because he’s only 6-foot-2 and didn’t play his best in some of his bigger college games, there are doubts from NFL scouts about Clark’s ability to play at the next level, although it has more to do with his decision-making than his arm or his athleticism.
He’s projected as a late-round pick or an undrafted free agent and may end up being a “Wildcat” quarterback in the NFL.
“Obviously I want to play quarterback and I’m very glad that in all my interviews with NFL teams, no one has talked about a position change,” he said. “But if the team that picks me feels the best way I can help is by changing positions, that’s what I’ll do.”
Clark’s father, Daryll Sr., said his son has already exceeded his expectations and believes he’s done everything he can to impress scouts.
“I remember after his pro day, which was a very good pro day, I said, ‘You’ve done all you could do in your career,’” said Daryll Sr. “I told him he’d trained hard and he’s gotten better as a quarterback even since the end of the season.
“Now he has to leave it in other people’s hands.”
Last fall, Clark earned his second degree, in journalism, after earning a telecommunications degree in the fall of 2008. When his football career ends, Clark said he’d like to go into broadcasting.
“I told him that I was never more proud than when he got his degree,” his father said. “Then he comes home with two and that was even better.”
If he’s picked, Clark will become the first Ursuline player drafted since Mike Echols in 2002. Rather than hold a big draft party, Clark plans to keep this weekend low-key.
“He doesn’t want to let anyone down,” his father said. “But I don’t think it matters when he goes. All he needs is an opportunity and he’s going to surprise some people.
“He’s had a great career so far. If he gets drafted anywhere this weekend, that’s just a cherry on top.”