Clark Following in Grandfather's Footsteps
9/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 17, 2014
By Steve Kornacki
Junior/sophomore Jeremy Clark has settled in nicely as the University of Michigan football team's starting strong safety, carrying on the tradition of excelling at the major college football level begun by his grandfather, William McFarland, who was a running back and wide receiver at Oklahoma State. McFarland tied for second in the Big Eight in 1961 with seven touchdowns.
"My grandfather passed away last year," Clark said, "but he used to talk about it all the time. I always looked up to him, knowing he went to a Division I college to play football. He used to just tell me to stay focused. And coming to a good university, don't take the academics for granted either. That's what he told me."
Clark redshirted as a freshman in 2012 and got into one game on defense last season, when he focused on special teams play. But the sophomore from Madisonville (Ky.) North Hopkins High is making an impact as a starter this season, notching seven tackles and one pass break-up in the first three games.
"It was crazy to be on the field," Clark said. "But I don't take it for granted at all.
"It's been three years since I played, and so I had to get used to the speed of the game. I hadn't really played D-1 football until then. It took me a couple of drives (in the Appalachian State opener) to calm down because I was real excited. But once I calmed down, I felt like I got the hang of it."
Michigan coach Brady Hoke said it was just a matter of Clark learning what it would take to succeed at this level and making the required adjustments.
"You look at Jeremy's progress from his freshman year," said Hoke. "He's always been blessed pretty well with the physical attributes. And I think his football intelligence continues to grow, and that's what you need back there. In high school, some of those guys can kind of line up where they want, and not because they're undisciplined or anything like that. But they can make a lot of plays because they have ability.
"The competition that we play against, week in and week out, adjusting to defenses and going from one coverage to another coverage, on a motion -- all those things are things I think he's really worked hard on."
-- Clark on his grandfather, William McFarland
Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison was asked what enabled Clark to improve to the point where he's starting.
"He has a lot of physical talent," Mattison said. "He's a great-looking young man who can run hard, and he's a great kid. The safety, in our defense, things happen real fast. And you have to make sure you're making the correct checks. If you don't, if you aren't where you're supposed to be, then you're asking for something bad to happen to the other guys.
"And so I think this has been a learning process that he's really had to learn from. And (junior free safety) Jarrod Wilson has done a great job of showing him what he's supposed to do, and how he's supposed to do it. And I think he's listened and worked very hard. And he's just touching it right now. He's not even close, and he's got time yet. I'm very pleased with how hard he's working."
Clark said, "(Wilson) knew more than me because he was an early enrollee (in 2012). Once I found that out, I started staying with him and going over film, going over checks."
"Communication's a big thing. If we're not on the same page, blown coverages happen. But I feel I'm getting better at it, working with Jarrod and (safeties) Coach (Curt) Mallory."
Clark said the fast-paced tempo of Utah (2-0), Saturday's opponent at Michigan Stadium, will necessitate making the correct checks quickly. The Utes averaged 57.5 points in wins over Idaho State and Fresno State, and quarterback Travis Wilson has six touchdown passes with zero interceptions.
"I just think if we play hard we'll be able to stick with them," said Clark.
