| No. 1 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1986-02-05)February 5, 1986 (age 39) Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight: | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Youngstown (OH) Ursuline The Kiski School |
| College: | Penn State (2006–2009) |
| Undrafted: | 2010 |
| Career history | |
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Daryll Lawrence Clark (born February 5, 1986) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aquarterback. He was signed by theCalgary Stampeders of theCanadian Football League (CFL) as a free agent in 2010. He played collegiately for thePenn State Nittany Lions. From 2005 until 2009, Clark was the Nittany Lions' all-time passing touchdowns leader, as well as numerous other passing records. Clark was recruited to Penn State out ofUrsuline High School in Youngstown by way ofThe Kiski School inSaltsburg,Pennsylvania. Clark has also been a member of theOmaha Nighthawks,Chicago Rush andMyrtle Beach Freedom.
As aredshirt freshman, Clark appeared in five games during the2006 season for thePenn State Nittany Lions. He completed 14 passes in 27 attempts for 116 yards and ran for 48 yards with 3touchdowns as a backup toAnthony Morelli. He made his college football debut in a loss toNotre Dame, scoring on a five-yard run near the end of the game.[1]
Clark saw more playing time as a sophomore in2007, again as a back-up toAnthony Morelli. He completed 6 passes out of 9 attempts for 131 yards and ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Clark saw significant playing time in the2007 Alamo Bowl versusthe Texas A&M Aggies. Penn State trailed the Aggies 14-0 in the second quarter when Paterno sent him in the game in place of Morelli to provide an offensive spark.[1] Clark responded by running for 50 yards on six carries and one touchdown. The game marked with debut of Penn State's newspread offense which replaced the traditional pocket passing- and tailback- oriented offense used by Penn State that season.[2]
Clark was named the starting quarterback for the2008 season after a highly publicized pre-season quarterback competition with redshirt sophomorePat Devlin.[1][3] Paterno cited Clark's game experience as a key factor in choosing him over Devlin.[3] Clark's mobility allowed Penn State to continue development of its "Spread HD" offense.[4] Clark's balanced, mistake-free performance throughout the first half of the season earned him the #6 spot on theSporting News' list of the season's "Most Indispensable Players."[5][6] At the conclusion of the season, Clark was granted extended eligibility from theNCAA after meeting certain academic benchmarks required of "partial qualifiers."[7]
Clark was electedteam captain by his teammates prior to the2009 season.[8]
At the end of the season Clark established many Penn State records for quarterbacks. He surpassedTodd Blackledge in career touchdown passes with a total of 43. Clark also became Penn State's single season leader in yards passed with 3,003 yards and the single season leader in touchdown passes with 24. His record as a starting quarterback is 22 wins and 4 losses.[9] The losses were twice tothe Iowa Hawkeyes, once toOhio State and once toUSC in the2009 Rose Bowl.
Clark was twice namedBig Ten Offensive Player of the Week during the2008 season: October 11, for his three-touchdown game versusWisconsin.[10] and November 22, following his career-high 341-yard, four touchdown performance in the regular season finale againstMichigan State.[11] He is a semifinalist for the 2008Maxwell[12] andDavey O'Brien awards.[13] The awards are given annually to the topcollegiate football player and top quarterback, respectively. At season's end, he was named a consensus first team All-Big Ten selection.[14]
Prior to the2009 season, Clark was selected as one of 20Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award candidates[15] and named to the Davey O'Brien Award watchlist.[16] He earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week accolades twice that season: September 4 and October 24, following wins overAkron andMichigan, respectively.[17] He was named first-team All-Big Ten after the 2009 season.
Clark was co-winner, withMichigan’sBrandon Graham, of the 2009Chicago Tribune Silver Football, awarded by theChicago Tribune to the college football player determined to be theMost Valuable Player of the Big Ten Conference.[18] It was the first time two players have shared the award since its establishment in 1924.[18] He also was namedECAC Player of the Year.[19]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft1+7⁄8 in (1.88 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | 32+3⁄4 in (0.83 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 4.72 s | 1.67 s | 2.72 s | 4.28 s | 6.97 s | 33.0 in (0.84 m) | 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m) | 21 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[20][21] | ||||||||||||
Daryll Clark wentundrafted in the2010 NFL draft. Clark was reportedly courted by theMinnesota Vikings,Green Bay Packers,St. Louis Rams andPittsburgh Steelers, before ultimately signing with theWashington Redskins to a future contract.[22] Clark attended the Redskins' training camp, but was not offered a contract.
Shortly after Washington's training camp, Clark signed with theCalgary Stampeders on July 23, 2010.[23] The signing came already three games into the CFL season, and some speculated Clark would have a tough time earning a starting job over Calgary's other quarterbacks who were more familiar with the offense.[24] On May 10, 2011, theCalgary Stampeders announced that they had released Clark after just one season, in which he did not attempt any passes.[25][26]
Clark signed with theOmaha Nighthawks of theUFL for the 2011 season. He was released on September 2.[27] On November 15, 2011, Clark signed with theChicago Rush of theAFL.[28]
In 2016, Clark began playing with theMyrtle Beach Freedom ofAmerican Indoor Football.[29]
Clark signed with theCape Fear Heroes in May 2017.[30] He re-signed with the team in December 2017.[31]
Clark earned aBachelor of Arts in telecommunications from Penn State in 2008.