The Cardinal Countdown: 92 Days Until Kickoff

#92 Malik Clark

Class: RS Freshman

Ht/Wt: 6-2/259

Position: Defensive Line

Hometown: Milledgeville, GA

Twitter: @malikclark_3

Thoughts: Malik was a nice piece of the 2017 signing class, coming to the Cards last season from smack dab in the middle of Georgia. Malik played on the defensive line some but was classified as a linebacker in high school, and although he was recruited by most as a linebacker hybrid, the plan was to always put some weight on Malik and get him down on the line for good. The last 12 months or so Malik has worked on doing just that, having now added about 7-9 pounds onto his frame during his redshirt season and out of spring ball. It’s a good start but he’ll need some more bulk to be an every down player moving forward. For reference he’s about 30lb lighter than FamU, and 40lb under GG and Boykin, three guys competing for starting roles this season. Last year LD Scott highlighted Clark’s athleticism at the NSD event and specifically mentioned his straight-line speed and ability to get in the backfield, something the Cards could use some help with in the next couple seasons (assuming of course that BVG has a blitz package in his playbook, something we missed in 2017). The fine line between getting bigger and stronger but not losing speed will be the battle for the weight staff and Clark moving forward.

Malik was a Top 15 linebacker in the state of Georgia and was the Region 3-AAAA defensive player of the year as a senior. With a season under his belt to add some weight, get adjusted to the speed of the college game, learn the playbook, etc I think Clark will get some playing time on the line this year in spurts. Our depth isn’t great in my opinion and a player like Clark could certainly work his way into a backup role by mid-season. In addition, I’m not sure what the game plan is for 2018 in the special teams department but if I’m running 11 guys out there on kickoffs multiple times each week it would be tough to keep a guy with his size and speed out of that lineup consistently.

Looking forward to seeing what Malik can do to help the squad in 2018 and set himself up for a larger role moving forward.

Sweet Tweet:

Flashback to last February when Malik officially became a Card. Puts a solid visual on the “it takes a village to raise a child” proverb. Nice support from family and friends can make a huge impact on a kid’s life, and it’s always good to see.

While the aforementioned proverb may be more slightly well known I tend to rely more on the new age proverb “don’t be an idiot”….

Changed my life.