SOUTH BEND, Ind. — As compelling as it was to hear Jordan Clark break down the evolution of the nickel position and its place in college football on Friday, the evolution of why Notre Dame has become such a desired transfer portal destination was even more so.
From the side-by-side video cutups of the Notre Dame coaching staff showing last year’s nickel — Oklahoma State transfer Thomas Harper — and Clark, during his recruiting visit in December, to recently retained Irish director of recruiting Chad Bowden’s big personality to the edge Clark saw in how ND approaches nutrition versus his old school, Arizona State.
To all the obvious and nuanced ways assistant athletics director/player personnel Butler Benton’s department functions, including deep research of potential transfers long before they hit the portal or even consider it.
Just to be ready for the compressed shopping, pitching and committing window that opened in early December.
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“They had it all set up to show why I fit in their defense,” Clark said Friday in an interview with the Notre Dame beat media during a break from winter workouts.
“It wasn’t like they were coming to get me because I was a guy in a position of need that had hit the portal. They wanted to let me know that it was specific to me, like I fit the role.
“That attention to detail and them really knowing me — having really studied and watched my film, showing me how I fit here — that meant everything to me. That and [defensive coordinator Al] Golden having been in the NFL, all the knowledge I can take from him here, it was a no-brainer.”
Clark will step into the nation’s No. 1 pass-efficiency defense — the first Irish team to earn that distinction in the 34 years since it became an official NCAA statistic — and the No. 5 team in total defense overall. It’s just the second Notre Dame defense to finish in the top 5 since Ara Parseghian retired following the 1974 season.
The Irish and head coach Marcus Freeman did lose a piece of that success, safeties coach Chris O’Leary, on Sunday to new LA Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Cornerbacks coach and defensive passing game coordinator Mike Mickens is expected to take over coaching the safeties and corners, with grad assistant linebackers coach Max Bullough expected to be promoted to a full-time position coaching the ND linebackers.
Notre Dame spring practice kicks off on March 7 and concludes with the Blue-Gold Fame at Notre Dame Stadium on April 20.
The son of former 13-year NFL safety Ryan Clark joins a secondary that returns, notably, the first safety in Notre Dame history to earn unanimous All-America honors, in grad Xavier Watts, and junior-to-be cornerback Ben Morrison, who Jordan Clark has known since preschool.
Both Watts and Clark will be working on master’s degrees ahead in the fall instead of partaking in the non-degree-seeking curriculum. Clark’s will be in nonprofit administration through the Mendoza College of Business.
His hope and expectation is to learn on the football field as well.
“I came here, because I wanted to progress and grow,” the 5-10, 179-pound Clark said. “I felt like this would be the best place to do that.”
His aim is to do that as a healthier player than he was during his final season at ASU in which he played through a chronic quad contusion and its complications, and still managed to accrue 50 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, along with nine pass breakups.
“It swelled up,” Clark said of the injury that occurred the second week of the 2023 season. “I had to get 300 CCs of blood drawn out of my leg toward the end of the year. It was a nagging thing for sure. I wasn’t really healthy for the majority of the year, but ultimately, I think if you can play, you should play. I was able to make it happen. It’s not an excuse for anything, but I wasn’t healthy for a majority of last year.”
He is healthy now, embracing new football director of football performance Loren Landow’s strength-and-conditioning approach and ready for spring football to start in less than four weeks. But if he had to play through injury at some point in 2024, he do it again.
“I love this. This is what I’ve wanted to do my whole life,” Clark said. “And I think having an opportunity to do it, I don’t want to waste any games. I don’t want to waste any opportunities I have to go out there and play, especially with my brothers.
“There were guys on that [ASU] team that I was never going to play with again, so if I can play, I’m always going to play. I’m going to compete. I’m delusional honestly; I think whether I’m 40%, 30%, I’m going to win. Ultimately, yeah, it was tough being hurt, but it didn’t affect me too much. … I’m excited to be healthy this year.”
And step right in where Harper left off in his lone season at ND. Harper, though, at 5-11 and 195 pounds was a bigger nickel, but Clark is confident he can bring the same kind of physicality to the position.
“To play nickel, you have to have it,” he said. “Very often, nickels aren’t the biggest people on the field, which are expected to fill the Sam linebacker role. You have to force. You have to box the ball back in. You have to get off blocks and destroy screens.
“I think the way that (Harper) plays the game is so admirable. I think it’s how you should play. I can’t wait to see what he does on the next level as well.”
Notre Dame has played more nickel than it has a traditional “base” defense with three linebackers during Golden’s first two seasons in South Bend, a trend that is likely to continue in 2024 at ND — and elsewhere.
“It’s evolving for many reasons,” Clark said. “Teams are playing out of 10 and 11 [personnel on offense] all of the time now. And then you’ve got tight ends like Brock Bowers that you really can’t put a linebacker on – you can’t put, really, anyone on him.
“The game is ever evolving. People are getting bigger, stronger, faster. You’ve got to have different ways to stop different things. As that happens, defenses have to evolve as well.”
And he’s never second-guessed his decision to be doing at Notre Dame now, turning down other strong suitors in Oregon, Florida State and Iowa State.
Ryan Clark, who moved into broadcasting (ESPN) and eventually podcasting (The Pivot Podcast) as well after retiring from the NFL, flew to South Bend last summer to interview Freeman for the podcast he does with former NFL players Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder.
Jordan admits he never listened to that episode, but he did listen to his father, who raved about Freeman — and still does.
“When I got into the portal and got in touch with Notre Dame, [Ryan Clark] was super excited about it,” Jordan said. “He loves coach Freeman. I think from that experience – it’s crazy how everything works out. It was like destiny almost.”
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