The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/137378
"It brings a smile to my face," he said. turf produced great excitement. Harvesting this year. We're working on not losing games "This is going to be the best defense we've a victory against Ohio State means far more, in the fourth quarter." had since I've been here — even better than and that's what Clark intends to pursue in The memory of the Columbus shortfall my freshman year, when we went to the 2013. makes Clark so angry he could spit. So Sugar Bowl and got the win. This is the "Man … the hit was okay, but if you take he's saving it up, for the perfect November best defense the Michigan football team, away the hit, and Michigan wins the football expectoration. the coaches and the fans have seen in years. game, that make it 100 times better," he "It leaves a taste in your mouth you don't There is really a lot to look for in this assured. "I would replace anything for a 'W.' want to have," he said. "Just walking out of defense. "At the end of the day, I'm a competitor. the stadium with your head down, it leaves "The four-man rush, this year? We're I hate to lose. Losing that game, especially a taste I've had to hold on to. I have to hold definitely going to get after the passer. Our me being from Ohio, having old teammates onto it until the last of November. goal is to lead the Big Ten, and be one of the from high school playing on that team, "It's something you want to get rid of. best pass-rushing teams in the nation." having friends playing on that team — last I You go to the store, and you purchase this There's a simple reason he's convinced it counted, it was nine." mouthwash. I'm going to do that on the will happen. Yes, they let him know about it. second week. On the third week, I'm going "Speed," Clark assured. to set it on my sink, and I'm "Everyone is fast, at every going to pour it in my cup. On position. When you've got "This is going to be the best defense we've the last week of November, D-tackles running 4.7s in the last Saturday, I'm going to had since I've been here — even better Jibreel Black, you've got finally put it in my mouth. than my freshman year, when we went to D-tackles running 4.8s "I'm going to gargle, and I'm in Quinton Washington, going to rinse that taste out of the Sugar Bowl and got the win. This is the you've got a rush running my mouth. That's how I look at a 4.54, and on the other best defense the Michigan football team, the it. You want to get rid of it." coaches and the fans have seen in years." side, your five-technique Someday, he'd like to settle running 4.6s … that's only up in a very different fashion. Clark the defensive line. His mom still lives in Los "It's speed. That's what we want. That's "When you lose to those people, I've got Angeles, and he'd love to send her to a better what we've got right now." to hear it," he acknowledged. "I've got to place as well. Clark also wants a different ending to go home to, 'Oh, you know we beat y'all. "I don't want her hurting, or suffering, the season. He certainly delivered the blast You know we got that 'W.' I've got to wait as I've seen," he noted. "I want her being that left high school rival Miller briefly a whole year to try to switch it over. That's happy. I love seeing my mother smile. She wondering whether he was in Columbus or what they say: 'You've got to wait a whole has a beautiful smile. When you see it, it Caracas. year. You've got 365 days until you play us makes my day. That's what I want for the Miller, though, earned the last laugh. The again.' rest of her life, if I end up making it where Buckeyes managed a pair of second-half "It hurt me, because I played my heart I want to be." field goals, Michigan didn't score, and that out. The team played hard, but the defense That just means Clark need to focus on left Clark carrying a mouthful of vinegar. should have stepped it up. We should have getting where he's going, beginning with Planting the Buckeyes' QB on his own done better. That's what we're working on opposing backfields. ❏ First-And-10 With Frank Clark First Car That He Drove: "It was my uncle's. It was about a 1994 Ford Taurus or something, something old. Really old. He was trying to teach me to drive. I was about 14, and he said, 'Come on, let's go to the school lot.' We went to the big school lot. "I didn't know how to buckle the seat, adjust the mirror … my mirror was looking at the ceiling, side mirrors looking at the doors. I just got in and put it in drive. He said, 'Do NOT push the gas.' We were sitting there going five miles per hour across the parking lot, and I'm thinking I was doing something then." First Major Sports Event He Attended: "It was a Los Angeles Lakers game at the Staples Center. I was probably about 8. I'm a diehard Lakers fan. This was in the early 2000s. That's when the Lakers were the team to beat. It was a Lakers-Spurs game, and what better game to be at back then? The atmosphere was crazy." First Concert He Went To: "It had to be a Lil' Wayne concert. I love Lil' Wayne as a rapper. I was probably 14 or 15." First Autograph He Asked For: "Kobe Bryant — same game. I got his autograph and a picture. I bought a picture from the stands, a big picture. I still have it to this day. I was blessed to see him after the game. I got the autograph, and that kind of made my whole life." First Loss That Made You Cry: "I was 9 or 10, and it was summer AAU track. I lost the 200-meter final. I probably cried the whole ride home. I beat the same guy in prelims, but he kind of surprised me. He was faster than what I thought, or what he showed. "Of course, you don't run during prelims. I didn't run my fastest. But he took off and I didn't have a kick left. I was thinking, this is all bad." First Wolverine Hero: "Most definitely it would be Charles Woodson. Before I knew Michigan, I knew who Charles Woodson was, from when he started playing with the Oakland Raiders. Then I learned he went to Michigan." First Jersey He Bought: "Michael Jordan — my mother bought it. It was retro, old school. It was black with the white stripes, one of the alternate jerseys. My mother bought it. It was my pride and joy, until it got too small for me. I wore it to school, I wore it to practice, I wore it when I went to hoops and tried to be Michael Jordan for about two hours a day. That was my most prized possession." First Class He Took At Michigan: "It was a sports management class, and it was probably the hardest class I'd ever taken in my life. I was the youngest one in the class. Everyone else was upper level. There were juniors and seniors, and I was a freshman, fresh out of high school, here in August, taking this upper-level course." First Team He Ever Played For: "It had to be the Inglewood Jets. That was a great team, a football team." First Rival He Hated: "My first rival that I ever hated? Probably be Braxton [Miller]. We played each other once in high school. Not Huber Heights, not the team, it was him. We ended up killing the team. It was 54-13, I believe. But he had a good game. He is a great player and had a good game. But it's him, most definitely." — John Borton The Wolverine 2013 Football Preview ■ 141