Position: Tight End
Ht/Wt: 6'6" / 243 lbs.
Location: Avon Old Farms School (worth noting the mascot is the Winged Beaver) – Avon, CT
Offers: Georgia, Texas Tech, Indiana, NC State, Virginia, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Syracuse, Temple, Ohio State
Ranking: ★★★ .8800 (247 Composite)
When it comes to identifying potential Michigan targets I tend to pay attention to who else is paying attention to a prospect. Depending on position if the Ohio States, Wisconsins, Penn States, Michigan States, and Notre Dames of the world are interested, I’d expect Michigan to show a little bit of interest at some point as well.
2015 TE Chris Clark was offered by the Buckeyes last week and I immediately reached out to him to see if the Michigan coaches have contacted him or if he had any interest in the Wolverines. To my surprise his interest level in Michigan was extremely high, despite it not being mutual from the coaches. In the 2015 class at the tight end spot Michigan figures to be in pretty good shape for Tyrone Wheatley Jr., but backup plans are always necessary.
Clark passes the eyeball test for a Big Ten tight end at 6’6” and 243 lbs. making him as big as several NFL tight ends already, let alone college starters. Clark was very open and insightful when it came to his interests and plans regarding his recruitment.
On film Clark’s size and strength are apparent but so is his willingness and ability to block, which isn’t always what you see out of high school tight ends. Clark seemed to have a good understanding of his strengths as well as what could be improved upon before and during college.
I believe my strengths are my hands and my ability to get yards after the catch. I am also pretty strong and can get off press coverage and block really well. I would definitely like to work on perfecting my route running. My coaches continue to tell me that route running in college will give me an advantage.
Clark has been compared to Tyler Eifert when he was coming out of high school and that doesn’t appear to be a stretch at all. Clark is actually about the same size that Eifert is right now as a Cincinnati Bengal.
With his offer list growing Clark has decided to take a level-headed approach to choosing a leader or a favorite, which he doesn’t have right now. He did admit to growing up a Boston College fan for pretty obvious reasons.
I loved BC growing up because my dad went there but that won’t have an impact on where I go.
Michigan hasn’t reached out to Clark at this time but he says Michigan is a school he’s always paid attention to when I asked him about the Wolverines.
Of course I’m interested, I mean it’s Michigan! Football is a lifeline for the school and I really like how passionate the fans are. The history of the program is just incredible and seeing The Big House on TV is awesome. Walking out onto that field, man, I bet there is no better feeling. I definitely plan on reaching out to the coaching staff at some point.
Right now he said that Michigan is definitely high up on his least despite not holding an offer. For what it’s worth he had the same sentiment about the Buckeyes who did just offer him.
Clark has started to make a mental checklist of what he needs out of a school and his priorities seem to be in solid order.
My relationship with the coaches is going to be big. Also if they utilize the tight end in the offense. I want to like the campus and the school in general. I have to be able to get a great education and just need to have the feeling that I could call that place home for four years. God forbid I got injured, it has to be a place where I would be happy if I wasn't playing football. My goal is to make it to the NFL but a backup plan would probably be something in the sports world so a school that can help with that is going to be important.
To go along with balanced priorities Clark also prides himself on his work ethic and plans to keep working until he is the best tight end in the country. He calls himself the most competitive person he knows and wants to win at everything he does.
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Clark wants to make his decision sometime before his summer camp starts in mid-August so he can just focus on his senior season. That being said the Wolverines may or may not factor in since no offer has been extended at this time. Scholarships are tight for the 2015 class but right now all of the eggs are in the Wheatley Jr. basket when it comes to tight end recruiting. The way Clark talked about Michigan it surprises me that a relationship has not been formed yet especially since he’s not close to being an under-the-radar prospect. He did say he plans on contacting the Michigan coaches and when he does I’ll get another update from him.